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US.4 - The New York Adventures of the Most Interesting Tour in the World

August 30, 2018, 4:44 pm
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While Serena Williams continues to be scheduled under the cover of night at this Open (her match vs. Venus will make her 3-for-3, something which even that Roger Federling guy surprisingly can't match this year), the bulk of the rest of the contenders in the women's draw have been engaged in a battle of attrition in the afternoon heat this week.

On Thursday, some of them displayed a more "adventurous spirit" than others.

#5 Petra Kvitova held an early double-break lead on Asian Games Gold medalist Wang Qiang at 4-1 in the 1st set, only to see the Chinese woman come back and have things tied at 5-5. Wang's double-fault put her break point down, and Kvitova soon grabbed the 6-5 lead. Down 15/30, the Czech fired an ace, and used big groundstrokes to reach set point. Wang saved it with a big return and aggressive follow-up put-away. Kvitova's multiple volleys a game later got her another SP, which she then squandered with a DF. She missed a crosscourt forehand on SP #3, then fired one long on SP #4. Finally, on SP #5, her wide lefty second serve elicited an error from Wang and Kvitova took the set 7-5.

Having had enough adventure for the day, Kvitova got the early break in the 2nd for 2-0, and rode out the advantage for a 6-3 win to advance to the 3rd Round at the U.S. Open for the seventh straight year, her best run at any single major in her career.



Meanwhile, #4 Angelique Kerber seemed to be set for a drama-free afternoon. The only player to reach at least the QF at all three previous '18 slams, the '16 U.S. Open champ somehow managed to slide into the year's final major under the radar, having not played often in the hard court summer, and only going 1-2 when she did. On some level, it was similar to her recent SW19 experience, where she spent most of the fortnight content to play in the relative shadows of others and then walked off with the Venus Rosewater dish even while most were still busy lauding Serena for her efforts to have just reached the final.

When the German led Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-2/5-2 today, it looked as if she'd slip into the 3rd Round mostly unnoticed just one year after her most recent New York experience had ended after one round in her attempt to defend her '16 title.

Kerber held two MP, only to see Larsson's aggression increase right as Angie seemed to take a step back, perhaps frustrated at her inability to close out the match, perhaps proving that even she can be faced with the notion of buckling under the summertime NYC heat. Larsson won five straight games to take the set 7-5, breaking Kerber's serve three straight times.

After both players left the court for the scheduled 10-minute heat break, Kerber quickly won the first three points on the Swede's serve, only to see Larsson battle back to hold with three winners. Kerber went up a break at 2-1, but gave it back a game later. As the German's pace slowed, it looked as if the weather might get the better of her. But the former #1 and three-time slam champ had another surge left in her.



A squatting baseline redirected winner down the line en route to a hold for 3-3 seemed to begin to effectively turn the tide in Kerber's favor. She went up love/40 on Larsson's serve in game #7, and broke on her third BP of the game when the Swede missed on an attempt of a backhand winner down the line. Larsson got the break back a game later, but the German then set up for her closing push. She won several brutal rallies to take a 15/40 lead in game #9, reaching BP with a down the line pass after having brought Larsson to the net with a drop shot. It proved to be the blow that wobbled Larsson for a final time. The Swede's weak second serve hit in the middle of the net, with the resulting DF giving Kerber a 5-4 lead. Falling behind love/30 a game later, the German's into-the-corner winner and dying-in-the-service-box volley got things back to even. At 30/30, Larsson wrongly believed her deep return had landed out, and didn't immediately move to retrieve Kerber's reply into the vacant side of the court. Her flat-footed non-response handed Kerber her third MP, a hour after she'd failed to put away her initial two of the day. Another extended rally followed, ended by a long Larsson shot off a short Kerber ball.

Kerber's 6-2/5-7/6-4 win officially cracks the publicity shell of the German's 2018 U.S. Open. Having survived her own mid-day tightrope-walking experience, she's now "on the map."No one can say they weren't notified of her presence on the grounds.



While summertime Dutch heroine #15 Kiki Bertens had an easy time of things vs. Bannerette qualifier Francesca Di Lorenzo, winning 6-2/6-1, and #29 Dominika Cibulkova needed three sets to take care of Hsieh Su-wei's Traveling Death-Defying Roadshow of Tennis Sudoku, #6 Caroline Garcia's match with Monica Puig pretty much boiled down to one monster game late in the 3rd set.

Puig rebounded from a disappointing season by reaching the New Haven semis last week, defeating Garcia to get there. It was her third win in three career meetings with the Pastry. Today, though, Garcia was the Marathon Woman. Serving at 4-4 in the 3rd, she managed to hold what rightly felt like a "match game" that lasted 19 minutes, 28 points and 11 deuces as Garcia saved six BP in what be the best single game of the women's competition so far. It wasn't a game where loose errors ruled the day, and most GP/BP were held via winners or strong play by the competitors.

Not surprisingly, since Garcia's dad couldn't come onto the court for a "coaching session" that would throw a sudden spanner in the works, Puig had a hard time regaining her footing when it was her turn to serve to stay in the match. A DF put her down 15/30, and an error gave Garcia double MP. While the players had combined to go 0-for-11 in BP chances in the set up to this point, Garcia converted the only one she'd need when Puig's mid-rally backhand went long, giving the Pastry the 6-2/1-6/6-4 win.



Garcia's next foe? Well, that depended on the final result of #30 Carla Suarez-Navarro's late afternoon/early evening match up with Kristina Mladenovic.

As it turned out, a week after Mladenovic's loss in New Haven prevented their first on-court meeting since the former doubles partners bitterly parted ways and then Mladenovic chose to attack Garcia's intelligence and patriotism via social media and elsewhere, the conclusion of that (by now) over-extended plotline had the chance to *finally* be put to bed for good in the city that doesn't sleep. But then Mladenovic lost a break lead in the 3rd set and the Spaniard served out a 6-1/4-6/6-4 victory

I guess *that* adventure will have to wait for another day.




=DAY 4 NOTES=
...the daytime hours of Day 4 allowed many members of Generation PDQ to find their footing (or slip on the proverbial banana peel) in the multi-headed battle to become the *second* from the group, after Alona Ostapenko last year in Paris, to reach the winner's circle at a major.

Since Ostapenko's Roland Garros triumph, or maybe since she and Dasha Kasatkina broke "new" ground with their all-teen final match up in Charleston last season (won by the Russian), the age group has produced additional singles champions named Barty, Danilovic, Kontaveit, Mertens, Osaka, Sabalenka, Siniakova, Vekic and Vondrousova. Ostapenko and Mertens have reached slam semis, while Kasatkina has reached back-to-back major quarterfinals. So far, though, none have followed Latvian Thunder into a slam final, let alone track in her footsteps with an ultimate victory.

Today was something akin to a college "Rush Week" for Gen PDQ, with the "contenders" edging ever closer to initiation into the club of daring-do. Within hours of each other, some of the top members of the would-be heroic clan of competitors both rose and fell in the Open spotlight.


#20 Naomi Osaka was the first to render a (temporary) verdict on her prospects at this slam with her 6-2/6-0 crushing of qualifier Julia Glushko. The shore continues to wait for Osaka to ride The Great Wave to superstardom, but her refreshing spring title run at Indian Wells surely hinted at what might be coming from the big-hitting (but still medium rare) 20-year old from Japan. She has the promise, personality and crossover appeal to be just what the tour needs to break down a few *new* barriers of interest. But that won't happen until she has a truly breakout slam run. Even so, Osaka has done well in the majors so far. This is her sixth straight slam 3rd Round result, and third consecutive at the Open. She's reached at least the 3rd Round in nine of the eleven slam MD in which she's appeared.




No player thrust herself into the summer spotlight with more vim and vigor than #26 Aryna Sabalenka, "Belarusian Boom" herself. The fiery, fireballing 20-year old won her maiden tour title less than a week ago, but has so far shown herself to not be ready for her summer fling in North America to be over. Playing today against veteran Hordette Vera Zvonareva, Sabalenka was nearly forced into a deciding set in the 2nd set TB, as the Russian got to within two points of victory. But Sabalenka got the TB back to even at 5-5. She sprayed a backhand (sometimes she's little "medium rare," too, but no longer "raw" after the hard court summer she's had) to again put the course of her afternoon in jeopardy, but then fired a *huge* forehand return to save SP. She failed to put away a volley moments later and was SP down again, but a *booming* serve and then a return winner tied the score at 7-7. A shot off the baseline gave her a MP, and then she let her power finish Zvonereva off, pushing her back into the court and wrapping up a 6-3/7-6(7) win. Sabalenka had 39 winners on the day as she extended her stay at her maiden U.S. Open into (at least) the 3rd Round.

The battle over and her game face put away, Sabalenka seamlessly slipped into "all-purpose PDQ star" mode as she smiled and laughed with ease with the fans surrounding court hoping to get a glimpse of *maybe* the Most Interesting Tour's "best big thing."



Things didn't so quite as well for "The Swashbuckler," as #11 Dasha Kasatkina was sent packing by Sabalenka's countrywoman, Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Three years ago, the Russian reached the 3rd Round at Flushing Meadows as a lucky loser, then advanced to the Round of 16 in '17. In 2018 she's posted seven Top 10 wins, including five over Top 3 players as she's edged to within a eyelash of reaching the Top 10 herself for the first time. Kasatkina reached the QF at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in recent months, but the player capable of pulling off every shot in the "How-To-Tennis" guidebook (even the ultra-rare jump slice crosscourt backhand drop shot) was simply unable to escape her own inconsistencies on Thursday.

Kasatkina was fortunate to scrape by Timea Babos two day ago, overcoming a 3rd set break deficit and saving a BP while down 4-3. She was just 2-3 after Wimbledon coming into this U.S. Open, and was virtually schooled by countrywoman Maria Sharapova in Montreal just a few weeks ago, winning only two games off the veteran. Sasnovich, meanwhile, was seeking her best U.S. Open result just weeks after reaching the Round of 16 at SW19, a career first in a major.

Kasatkina was slow out of the gate. Sasnovich got an early break for 2-0, led 4-1, and converted on her third BP/SP on the Russians's serve, firing a backhand return winner down the line to win the 1st set 6-2 in 28 minutes. Kasatkina had four winners to twelve unforced errors, three DF and zero BP opportunities in the set. Sasnovich won 88% of her first serves, and was 5-of-5 at the net.

Kastakina broke to start the 2nd, and saved BPs in game #2. Sasnovich broke to even things at 3-3, but the Russian got the break back (the Belarusian DF's on BP in game #7) and held for 5-3. Kastakina held set point on serve in game #10, but failed to convert it, and then saw Sasnovich's successful drop shot get the break to even the score at 5-5. The two exchanged two more breaks and headed into a tie-break. Sasnovich took the early double-break lead thanks to a Kasatkina forehand error, leading 3-0. The frustrated Russian pummeled her thigh with multiple punches... then got on the board with a slice drop shot. Soon it was 3-3 and a 3rd set seemed possible again, but back-to-back forehand errors from Kasatkina put her down 5-3. A Sasnovich volley gave her double MP, and another forehand error from the Hordette ended the 6-2/7-6(3) match.



After four players from Belarus reached the 2nd Round of a major for the first time two days ago, three of them have advanced into the 3rd Round for the first time after today, with Sabalenka and Sasnovich joining former #1 Vika Azarenka.

Who knows, when the dust settles the player who ultimately follows in the footsteps of Ostapenko could be... Latvian Thunder?

While Ostapenko is still trying to find ways to corral her error totals just enough -- or at least time them differently, along with her ballooning DF totals -- to allow her brilliant and powerful shotmaking to rule the day, she'll have to be content with fighting tooth and colored nail each round in order to advance at this Open. She did so in the 1st Round vs. Andrea Petkovic, and was forced to repeat the feat today against Taylor Townsend.

Townsend, the recent Female MVP in World Team Tennis play for Philadelphia who ousted teenager Amanda Anisimova in the 1st Round, was on her game early vs. Ostapenko, grabbing a break lead, then doing it again after the Latvian had pulled even at 2-2. A love hold (with a serve-and-volley tactic on GP) gave the Bannerette a 4-2 edge, and she eventually served out the set at love to win it 6-4. In the 2nd, Ostapenko got somewhat better control of her shots, but still had to ride a wave of shifting momentum (often of her own doing) throughout the remainder of the match. She broke Townsend for a 4-2 lead, overcoming her DF's with groundstroke winners. She reached SP a game later, but three errors allowed Townsend to hold serve. Ostapenko DF'd on her second SP, but fired a service winner on #3 to win the 2nd set 6-3.

Ostapenko broke serve in game #1 of the 3rd, and led 3-1. Serving at 3-2, she missed on a swing volley and continued to donate enough DF's to keep Townsend from falling behind. After her 14th DF of the day, she was BP down, then fired a forehand into the net as set went back on serve. It stayed that way up until 4-4, when the Latvian took a 15/40 lead on Townsend's serve. On her second BP, Ostapenko's hard shot at Townsend's feet created a backhand error into the net. Serving for the win up 5-4, Ostapenko held at 15 to win 4-6/6-3/6-4 and reach the 3rd Round at Flushing Meadows for a second straight year. She had 52 winners (vs. 47 UE) on the day (vs. Townsend's 20/26), enough to overcome her fifteen DF.



A possible match-up with Sharapova awaits, as we'll see on Night 4 whether the Russian can be sharper against Sorana Cirstea than she was on Night 2 vs. Patty Schnyder.

Late in the day, Marketa Vondrousova made sure that *her* nomination for inclusive in this discussion didn't get lost in the mix, while her countrywoman Katerina Siniakova was still being put through the motions by Ajla Tomljanovic when things were last updated.



"Initiation ceremonies" for Generation PDQ continue for a few more days, and maybe deep into next week. We'll soon see, at the very least, who might make the cut for a possible Week 2 star-turn in the big city.

...in case you missed it when the WD draw came out, Latisha Chan's Spinning Wheel of Doubles Partners somehow landed on "Azarenka" for this slam (who saw that coming?). The pair opened play in women's doubles today, getting a three-set win over Yulia Putintseva & Ana Bogdan.

So we'll see how *that* goes.

LIKE ON DAY 4: Another Czech...



Qualifier Karolina Muchova wrapped up the second big upset in the women's field late on Night 3, or early on Day 4, really. In a match that ended at 1:08 a.m. on Armstrong, the 22-year old Czech (#202) continued to make her slam debut a memorable one, defeating former #1 and two-time slam winner Garbine Muguruza in a star-making three set triumph. The Spaniard had led 2-0 in the 3rd, with four BP for a double-break lead, but once she failed to secure the double break the tenor of the match as a whole was forever altered. Muchova, a three-time ITF challenger finalist this season (she's just 2-8 in career finals), arrived in New York having played in just one tour-level MD (qualifying in Seoul last September, then losing to Priscilla Hon) in her career. She fired eight aces vs. Muguruza, had 41 winners and was 21-of-37 at the net in the match.

With Genie Bouchard's Day 4 loss, Muchova is the "Last Qualifier Standing."

LIKE ON DAY 4: Chakvetadze (+Plus) Sighting!



LIKE ON DAY 4: The Dutch Artist still has some tennis left in her...

Yes, this is me.. 14years ago.. just before I won my first junior grand slam here at the Us Open.. before I turned full time pro.. before I won 14x ITF singles and 21x ITF doubles titles.. before I won 3x WTA singles and 6x WTA doubles titles.. and before i had 6x knee surgeries.. all these years that i have spent on and off the court practicing, sweating, working out, fighting, laughing and crying, recovering from surgeries, eating, sleeping and breathing tennis, I have always fell asleep at the end of any day with believing I can be better tomorrow.. not everyone can be world number 1 or win a grand slam.. but as long as you have the will to wake up and give it everything you have, there is a good chance you will retire one day and feel very content.. but I am not there yet.. ???? despite the loss yesterday in our 1st round doubles i arrived here in New York City already feeling like a winner.. because I have proven to myself that despite being born with a “bad” meniscus, I have played and am going to continue playing tennis and pushing my own limits.. my journey is definitely not a regular one and although some days are tough and frustrating with having to balance the amount of tennis, gym and recovery so that my knee is ready for the next day, a match like the one yesterday gives me hope and power and a feeling that if i stay strong and don’t give up, there will be more chances like these in the future. So yes, this is me, age 29, currently ranked 167 in doubles and 749 in singles, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The only way is up, so onto the next one. ?? #NoFairytaleHere #RealLife —> next WTA #Chicago & WTA #Quebec

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LIKE ON DAY 4: In Rinaldi They Trusted



LIKE ON DAY 4: Dani does the Open



NIGHT 5 ON DAY 4:




...and, finally...

The Swedish duo Roxette -- Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle -- always seemed as if they were often underrated and overlooked. From "Joyride" and "Listen to Yoru Heart" to "It Must Have Been Love" (from "Pretty Woman") and "The Look," they were reliable worldwide hit-makers in the 1990s after many successful years in Sweden, with their best efforts highlighted by the powerful vocals of Fredriksson.

The group had formed in 1986 after successful solo efforts from Fredriksson and Gessle fronting a successful boy band (Gyllene Tider) in Sweden. In 2002, Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor after fainting and fracturing her cranium, for a time leaving her nearly blind and unable to read. While she took time off to recover, Gessle released solo albums before they came together again seven years later. The duo embarked on a 30th anniversary tour in 2014, often with Fredriksson performing while seated in a chair on stage. In early '16, the last leg of the tour was cancelled due to Fredriksson's health, as doctors advised she forego playing live. Her last concert came in February. Later they year, Roxette released their most recent studio album.

[Original "The Look" video - 1989]

[Fredriksson's story - 2012]

["The Look" live in 2015]

[last concert appearance - February 2016]














??

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Ready to kick off Day 3 @usopen ?? Are you ready for some tennis ???

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**U.S. OPEN "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS**
=2006=
Eva Birnerova/CZE
Youlia Fedossova/FRA
Kirsten Flipkens/BEL
Varvara Lepchenko/UZB
Aga Radwanska/POL (all 2nd Rd.)
=2007=
Alize Cornet/FRA
Ekaterina Makarova/RUS (3rd Rd.)
=2008=
Anna-Lena Groenefeld/GER (4th Rd.)
=2009=
Anastasia Rodionova/AUS (3rd Rd.)
=2010=
Lourdes Dominquez-Lino/ESP
Mandy Minella/LUX (3rd Rd.)
=2011=
Silvia Soler-Espinosa/ESP (3rd Rd.)
=2012=
Olga Puchkova/RUS (3rd Rd.)
=2013=
Camila Giorgi/ITA (4th Rd.)
=2014=
Aleksandra Krunic/SRB
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni/CRO (4th Rd.)
=2015=
Johanna Konta/GBR
Anett Kontaveit/EST (4th Rd.)
=2016=
CiCi Bellis/USA (3rd Rd.)
=2017=
Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF)
=2018=
Karolina Muchova, CZE (in 3rd Rd.)
[2018]
AO: Denisa Allertova/CZE (4th Rd.)
RG: C.Dolehide/USA, M.Frech/POL, G.Garcia-Perez/ESP (2nd Rd.)
WI: Evgeniya Rodina/RUS (4th Rd.)
US: Karolina Muchova/CZE (in 3rd Rd.)

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[SUI Champions]
1997 Martina Hingis
[SUI Finalists]
1998 Martina Hingis
1999 Martina Hingis
[SUI Semifinalists]
1992 Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (ex-BUL)
1993 Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (ex-BUL)
1996 Martina Hingis
2000 Martina Hingis
2001 Martina Hingis
[SUI Quarterfinalists]
1990 Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (ex-BUL)
1998 Patty Schnyder
2008 Patty Schnyder
2014 Belinda Bencic

**BACKSPIN 2018 VETERAN AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Julia Goerges, GER
AO: Angelique Kerber, GER
FEB/MAR: Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
I.W./MIAMI: Venus Williams, USA
1Q: ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER
APR: Pauline Parmentier, FRA
MAY: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
RG: Angelique Kerber, GER
2Q Clay Court: SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
JUN: Tatjana Maria, GER
WI: Julia Goerges, GER
2Q Grass Court: Julia Goerges, GER
JUL/AUG: Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
AUG: Alize Cornet, FRA
[2018 Weekly VETERAN Award Wins]
5 - Angelique Kerber, GER
4 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
4 - Julia Goerges, GER
3 - Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
3 - Andrea Petkovic, GER
2 - Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
2 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2 - Alize Cornet, FRA
2 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER (WC)
2 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2 - Kaia Kanepi, EST
2 - Petra Martic, CRO
2 - Evgeniya Rodina, RUS
2 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
2 - Barbora Strycova, CZE
2 - Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2 - Venus Williams, USA
2 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN




TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominee: Siniakova (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; was "Zombie Queen" for Wimbledon after opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("??"): xx
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 3rd Rd.: Kenin, Keys, Stephens, S.Williams, V.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominee: Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, K.Muchova
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 4. More tomorrow.
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US.5 - Fancy Meeting You Here...Again

August 31, 2018, 3:48 pm
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Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka just can't get enough of each other.

Combined, they've won three major titles, and played in three other slam finals. They met three consecutive years in Melbourne from 2013-15 in the time span at the tail end and immediately after Azarenka's run at #1, and the start of Stephens' initial big stage breakout moments on tour. Their meetings were often loaded with drama, though much of it was speculative (puffed up, really), having grown out of the needless controversy surrounding Azarenka's "double medical time out" during the '13 Australian Open semifinal in which she'd been dominating the Bannerette. Oddly enough, all three of those trio of matches -- all claimed by the Belarusian -- were straight sets affairs.

While Stephens staged a comeback last summer from ankle surgery, winning the U.S. Open title and then going on to reach the final at Roland Garros this spring, and arriving at Flushing Meadows as the #3-ranked player in the world, Azarenka's own pregnancy break and custody battle have often-times made her seem little more than a tour rumor over the last two seasons. Not long after winning the Indian Wells/Miami "Sunshine Double" in '16, going 26-1 to start that season, she was part of the game in name only. She played just two events in '17, and didn't begin her '18 season until March. Ranked #208 to end '17, she still managed to reach the semis in Indian Wells in her second event back this year. Oh, and even while they existed on opposite ends of the ranking spectrum, she and Stephens faced off that month. Twice, in fact. Stephens won both meetings, with their semi in Miami being their first ever three-set encounter.

With Stephens looking to defend her Open title, and now-#79 Azarenka trying to make the most of what remains of '18 and then set her mind to be better prepared for '19, once again each woman found the other standing in her way in a very big event. Stephens was coming off a comeback win over qualifier Anhelina Kalinina in her most recent match, while Azarenka had efficiently downed #25-seed Dasha Gavrilova.

Stephens, in form and serving nearly flawlessly, grabbed an early break advantage in the 1st set, and led 3-1. Azarenka finally carved out a break point in game #6, but failed to convert when she mistimed a jumping backhand crosscourt approach shot. A yanked forehand led to a Stephens hold for 4-2. Down 5-3, Azarenka was broken at love to end the set. Stephens had missed on just *one* first serve.



At 1-1, with Azarenka trying to find a crack through which to slip into the match, got a BP chance in game #3. But Stephens' solid, clutch play over a series of rallies allowed her to hold serve. The confidence that Stephens developed over the course of her summer-long, post-injury break Open run in '17, along with an innately in-tune relationship with Coach Kamau Murray, has made her one of the tougher nuts to crack on tour since she "found the key" to success that she'd been actively in search of after her early-career slam runs. Because of this, Azarenka had little margin for error if she was going to make a match of things. Unfortunately, as has been the case since her return to the tour, Azarenka has had difficulty sustaining the flashes of the "old Vika" that she's occasionally shown.

The same scenario would play out in this 3rd Round match (with a healthy assist "from above").

Up 40/15 on serve, Azarenka lost control of her service game as Stephens got the best of her in their baseline battles, reaching BP and getting the break for 3-1 thanks to a forehand error from the Belarusian. But Stephens' play didn't *continue* to rise. She squandered a 30/love lead of her own a game later, then double-faulted on BP to get the 2nd set back on serve. In game #4, Azarenka climbed out of a love/40 hole, saving three straight BP, and then an additional fourth. She came into the net behind a deep ball and put away a forehand volley to reach GP, then fired a big serve that handcuffed Stephens, holding for 3-3. Azarenka raced to a 15/40 lead a game later, as Stephens briefly lost control of the action. Azarenka's netted backhand volley allowed the game to get to deuce, but a Stephens DF gave her another BP chance. Vika's aggressive second serve return elicited a Stephens error and she took the lead with break for 4-3.

But just when it seemed as if Azarenka might have finally wrestled away momentum in the match, but it was now that the decision was made to close the Ashe Stadium roof. Even while rain was really not an issue (play wasn't interrupted on other courts), and ultimately wouldn't be for the remainder of the time frame in which the match was played. After an 8-10 minute delay, the players returns to the court and, well, things had changed.

At 30/30, Azarenka suffered a lapse of focus that resulted in a bad shot selection and loose error, as well as a service break that got Stephens even at 4-4. Two games later, down 5-4 and 15/30 on serve, a wide Azarenka forehand gave Sloane a match point. Vika blocked a low-bouncing shot at the net that landed in the short court. Stephens raced from behind the baseline to retrieve it and fired a match-ending forehand passing shot to win 6-3/6-4. And then she went fist-shaking crazy.



Stephens may very well have turned the course of the match back in her favor without the roof closure. She's earned enough benefit of the doubt over the last year to believe she had in it her to do it without any "assistance." And Azarenka admitted as much, citing her own failure to win key points, as well as her errors and Sloane's mostly in-form play, for her fate. We'll just never *really* know what might have been.

We'll surely get another version of this match-up soon to get a better idea, though.. Likely on a big stage. With big stakes. It's just the way Sloane and Vika are.



=DAY 5 NOTES=
...in the other early-starting women's 3rd Round matches on Sunday, #19 Anastasija Sevastova continued to ❤ New York, while #15 Elise Mertens reached her third 2018 slam Round of 16, and first in New York.

The Latvian has reached the QF in Flushing Meadows the last two years, and had 3-1 3rd set lead vs. Stephens in their match last year. Today she edged to within one win of matching her previous final eight runs with a 4-6/6-1/6-2 win over Ekaterina Makarova.



Makarova's loss leaves Maria Sharapova as the last remaining Russian in the women's draw, set to play another Latvian (Alona Ostapenko) tomorrow. At least one Hordette has been in the Round of 16 at 69 of the last 72 majors, and have done so at all but one U.S Open (2016) since 2000.

Playing in her overall 102nd match of the season's first eight months (she and Demi Schuurs won their WD opener yesterday), Mertens defeated #23 Barbora Strycova in straight sets, holding tough to hold in game #12 of the 2nd, then overcoming a 3-1 tie-break disadvantage to win 6-3/7-6(4). Mertens is now 13-3 in the majors this season. She'd been just 2-4 before her Australian Open semifinal run in January.



Later in the afternoon, the U.S. Open experience of Asian Games Gold medalist Wang Qiang (hmmm, at least I think she's the correct Wang in this match... ah, yes she is!) was ended by #7 Elina Svitolina. After making Magdalena Rybarikova the First Seed Out on Day 1 (the same thing she did to Venus Williams in Paris this year), Wang fell 6-4/6-4 today. The loss ends Wang's seven-match winning streak. She's still 13-3 (unofficially, w/ her AG wins) from the start of her Nanchang title run last month.

Since dropping the 2nd set of her 1st Round match vs. Sachia Vickery, Svitolina has won five straight and slipped into the Round of 16 for the second straight year in New York. No one is paying her much attention, and I'm sure that's fairly well to her liking. She'll face Sevastova next, but could get Stephens after that. People would be watching then, so we'll see how she handles that moment if it comes to fruition.



...winners in women's doubles today included #2 Babos/Mladenovic (so Kiki's injury last night while losing to CSN wasn't so debilitating that it kept her out this afternoon... hmmmmmmm, and I'll leave it at that), and #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova, who defeated five-time slam champs Mattek-Sands/Safarova by charging back from a 3-1 2nd set deficit to win 6-4/6-3. Winners of Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, the Czechs are on a 14-match slam winning streak.

Into the 3rd round at @usopen ????????

A post shared by Katerina Siniakova (@siniakovakaterina) on



Speaking of Katerina Siniakova, as I noted in the comment section of yesterday's post, she DID IT AGAIN. Two days after Anett Kontaveit served for the match against the Czech, Ajla Tomljanovic did it last night at 6-5 in the 3rd (after Siniakova has failed to serve out the match herself). In both cases, Siniakova managed to win the match... just as she did vs. CoCo Vandeweghe and Ons Jabeur under the same circumstances in the opening two rounds at Wimbledon. She won "Zombie Queen of London" then, and she's followed up by becoming the "Zombie Queen of New York," as well.

Meanwhile, WD's #9 Bertens/Larsson lost to Hibino/Kalashnikova in straight sets.

...well, I'm just going to briefly close up shop for now, since the first "U.S. Open at Night" post for this year will be necessary due to Serena/Venus XXX on Friday evening. It took five days... so that's not too bad.

Of course, as was painfully apparent during Tom Rinaldi's piece (though he didn't mean it to be) on ESPN today, we've officially reached the breaking point after two decades. It is now "officially" an act of mindless repetition to once again recount the entire history of the Williams Sisters in one sitting (or one segment). We've heard it all so many times that it's almost imperative to hit the mute button or else one might want to yell at the television something along the lines of, "All right, I KNOW all that already."And, frankly, that's sort of disrespectful of all they've accomplished. So, please... just stop, ESPN. That sort of retrospective should really now be held for the *end* of their active tennis story, not each and every time they're on the court together (unless if and when it might be known before hand that it'll never happen again). Who knows when that time may comes, and still could be a while, but that's when the Greatest Tennis Story Ever Told can be fully appreciated in its entirety.

The images are still fun, though, especially without the sound. The march of time is ever forward.



But there IS a match to play tonight, and that is STILL a noteworthy event on a huge stage. So, Daily Backspin Day "5.5" it is.

Bannerette Sonya Kenin fill face off with Karolina Pliskova (still chugging along with Conchita Martinez keeping a watchful eye at this slam) under the lights on Armstrong, as well.

Still to finish during the day session as of this post: Kanepi/Peterson and Barty/Muchova.


LIKE ON DAY 5: Pre-HoF (for now) Conchita



IS PAMMY AUDITIONING FOR THE WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS JOB? ON DAY 5: The ESPNers like to point out every blessed move the coaches make in their boxes during matches. Check that, they like to make an issue of it "breaking the rules" when it's a non-U.S. star. Yet today when Mary Joe Fernandez pointed out today that Kamau Murray was standing up and yelling instructions to Stephens during the match, Pam Shriver essentially shrugged it off with a but "everybody does it" comment.

Allll right.

Personally, I don't have any problems with it, since once the WTA officially began to allow in-match coaching during the season and allowing players to depend on the tips and encouragement, I think, it rendered any lingering issues against coaches skirting the rules (at best) during the majors an over-it argument. Something about putting the toothpaste back into the tube.

And I won't even go into Shriver's incessantly annoying practice this week of seeing fit to do a "4...3...2...1..." countdown any time a player is beginning his or her service motion as the shot clock is winding down toward zero.

"Inside voice," Pammy. "Inside voice."

Hmmm... ON DAY 5: Did someone say "Upset Court?"



BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER ON DAY 5:




*whispers softly* Ostapenko-Petkovic, too

I think Sloane/Vika had it's moment, and the *potential* to be something special, but never quite lived up to it because Azarenka just wasn't able to sustain her momentum and make it so. And just when it looked like the might, they closed to the roof for a nonexistent "rain shower."


...and, finally...

A nation turns its lonely eyes to... Canada.

First, Alannah Myles' paean to Elvis Presley, "Black Velvet."


Second, a personal favorite my mine from "back in the day," k.d. lang. Reportedly, upon meeting lang, Madonna said, "Elvis is alive... and she's beautiful!"

lang has had many different musical periods over the course of her long career, from her "cowboy punk" persona to country crooner and standard-belter, with a heavy does of successful pop music thrown in, as well. For me, for all her amazing performances singing iconic and BIG songs, her country stage was her most glorious because it bucked convention on nearly every level, as the Alberta native broke nearly every mold as a vegetarian from Canadian cattle country who just so happened to also be an androgynous gay woman with close cropped hair who often dressed in suits while she belted out some of the most beautiful melodies anyone had seen in country music since Patsy Cline. She never quite perfectly "fit" in country music, but that was why her unique existence within its borders was oh so right.

While the power and grace of her voice has never been questioned by anyone who's ever heard her, I still don't think she's ever *really* got (or gets) her true due. Hers was/is one of the great voices when great voices still mattered in music.

Some vintage early lang country songs...

["Pullin' Back the Reigns"]

["Trail of Broken Hearts"]

["Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" - on "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson"]

She ultimately owned Roy Orbison's classic, making it her own after having recorded with him before his death...


lang ultimately broke through big time with her early 1990's "Ingenue" album, and her still-heard-quite-often hit "Constant Craving"






#goodmorning #beautifulday #bestplace #home?? @stejariicountryclub

A post shared by Simona Halep (@simonahalep) on




















**U.S. OPEN "ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK" WINNERS**
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2011 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2014 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2015 Daria Kasatkina, RUS
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Madison Keys, USA and Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
[2018]
AO: C.Wozniacki, DEN (2nd Rd.: Fett served up 5-1, 40/15 in 3rd set; 2 MP)
RG: Y.Putintseva, KAZ (3rd Rd.: down 6-1/4-1 & 2 MP, 3-0 in 3rd, vs. Q.Wang)
WI: K.Siniakova, CZE (1st/2nd Rd. opponents served for match)
US: K.Siniakova, CZE (1st/2nd Rd. opponents served for match)

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[CAN Semifinalists]
1984 Carling Bassett
[CAN Quarterfinalists]
1992 Patricia Hy
[CAN Round of 16]
1970 Jane O'Hara (3rd Rd.)
1985 Carling Bassett
2014 Genie Bouchard
2015 Genie Bouchard

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[SWE Round of 16]
1970 Christina Sandberg (3rd Rd.)
1985 Catarina Lindqvist
1986 Catarina Lindqvist
1987 Catarina Lindqvist
1996 Asa Carlson

**BACKSPIN 2018 COMEBACK AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Belinda Bencic, SUI
AO: Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
FEB/MAR: Sara Errani, ITA
I.W./MIAMI: Victoria Azarenka, BLR
1Q: REBECCA MARINO, CAN
APR: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK
MAY: Maria Sharapova, RUS
RG: Maria Sharapova, RUS
2Q Clay Court: MARIA SHARAPOVA, RUS
JUN: Barbora Stefkova, CZE
WI: Serena Williams, USA
2Q Grass Court: SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
JUL/AUG: Genie Bouchard, CAN
AUG: Allie Kiick, USA
[2018 Weekly COMEBACK Award Wins]
5 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
4 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
3 - Allie Kiick, USA
4 - Johanna Konta, GBR
4 - Serena Williams, USA
2 - Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
2 - Angelique Kerber, GER
2 - Rebecca Marino, CAN
2 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2 - Monica Puig, PUR
2 - Laura Siegemund, GER
2 - Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
2 - Stefanie Voegele, SUI

**BEST 2018 SLAM RESULTS**
[wild cards]
3rd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (US)
3rd Rd. - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (RG)
2nd Rd. - Olivia Rogowska, AUS (AO)
2nd Rd. - Taylor Townsend, USA (RG)
2nd Rd. - Katie Boulter, GBR (WI)
2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur, TUN (WI)
2nd Rd. - Katie Swan, GBR, (WI)
2nd Rd. - Claire Liu, USA (US)

**U.S. OPEN "EARLY-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS**
2002 (Week 1 POW) Serena Williams, USA (W)
2003 (Week 1 POW) Jennifer Capriati, USA
2004 (Week 1 POW) Serena Williams, USA
2005 (Week 1 POW) Maria Sharapova, RUS
2006 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2007 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2008 Venus Williams, USA
2009 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2011 Serena Williams, USA
2012 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2013 (co) Serena Williams/USA (W) & Victoria Azarenka/BLR
2014 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2015 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Serena Williams, USA
2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2018 Kiki Bertens, NED
[2018]
AO: Angelique Kerber, GER
RG: Elina Svitolina, UKR
WI: Simona Halep, ROU
US: Kiki Bertens, NED



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("??"): xx
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 3rd Rd.: Kenin, Keys, Stephens(W), S.Williams, V.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominee: Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, K.Muchova
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 5. More tonight.
↧
↧

US 5.5 - Serena Sweeps Away the Doubt

August 31, 2018, 9:26 pm
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And on Night 5... well, the Williams Sisters didn't particularly pull off something unique. At least not when it comes to *their* tennis lives and careers.

They met for the 30th time as professionals. The 16th time in a major, though only the second time in the opening *week* of one, the first since their maiden match in Melbourne twenty years ago.



So, yeah, we've pretty much been here before. And after the consummate performance put on by Serena on Friday night, we have our first evidence that we might be saying the same thing on the final weekend of this U.S. Open, too.

Surely, the days of the Venus & Serena on-court story are numbered. But it's not as if anyone is counting them down just yet, even as they play deep into their late thirties, defeating players who were barely born (or not yet) when they first made *their* tour debuts. We've now witnessed two full decades of a tennis family's story told and retold more times than can be counted, even while new chapters are *still* being written. This latest plot point may ultimately be seen as a minor one, or maybe as a stepping stone along way toward the *next* watershed moment in the career of the winner.

*That* Williams, without a doubt, turned out to be Serena, who performed brilliantly, but also with an air of subdued routine that one might see from someone performing the nightly duty of sweeping the floor at the end of the business day before heading home for the night. So cleanly and concisely were her duties carried out that even Serena herself had to acknowledge it after the match, saying that she believed it to by far be her best performance since she returned to the tour earlier this season. A season, remember, which saw her reach the Wimbledon final less than two months ago.

The biggest drama in the match may have occurred in the second game, when Serena turned her ankle in the backcourt while up 15/40 on Venus' serve. Venus saved both break points and held for 1-1. Serena had a trainer re-wrap her already heavily-wrapped ankle in the changeover following the next game.



Once she returned to action, Serena seemed to move fine. And, really, that was the only moment left open to question in this one.

While Venus struggled to hold serve, missing far too many first serves to remain competitive, Serena rarely made a mistake. While the older Williams had her moment, such as a pretty running forehand winner down the line in game #5, they were few and far between in comparison to her younger sister. Already down 4-1, Venus held multiple GP's in game #6, but on her second BP faced in the game a Serena shot popped off the net cord and brought Venus in to the outer edge of the AD court to retrieve it. Serena easily passed her at the net to break for a 5-1 lead. She then held at love, firing an ace on set point.



After dropping serve to open the 2nd, Venus found her *only* opening in the match. An error from Serena gave her her first BP of the night. She had a chance to convert it, but missed on a forehand passing shot behind Serena, who then went on to hold for 2-0. Venus won her second game of the match in game #3, but again had to save BP before seeing it go her way on the scoreboard. Down 5-1, she struggled to win just one more, finally putting away a long game in which she *didn't* face a BP (just a handful of deuce points), holding with an ace. While serving out the match, Serena at times made it appear as if she was the only player on the court. She fired an ace to reach MP, then double-faulted. Then she fired another ace for MP #2 while Venus watched. A wide serve and forehand winner combo ended things after 1:12, giving Serena a 6-1/6-2 win that ties the head-to-head Sister series mark for the fewest games surrendered (3 - Serena d. Venus, Charleston '13).



In the end, Serena had 34 total winners (vs. 14 for Venus) and ten aces. She won 88% of her first serve points, and only faced one BP in the match. The win sends her into the U.S. Open Round of 16 for a seventeenth straight time. She's done so in her last thirteen slam appearances, and a total of fifty-eight times in majors during her career.

With the floor spotless beneath her feet, one could almost imagine the tiny voice inside her head saying, "All right, Serena. It's time to turn out the lights."


(And said the field: "Yeah, that's what we're afraid of.")



=NIGHT 5 NOTES=
...in the other 3rd Round matches that went into the night, Ash Barty ended Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova's run with a 6-3/6-4 win.




Yowza! That was purrrty.

And in the late match on Armstrong, Sonya Kenin tried as she might to add Karolina Pliskova to her list of nighttime victims after she took out Maria Sakkari in the 1st Round. She led the Czech 4-2 in the 1st *and* 2nd sets, but Pliskova's serve (FINALLY on -- she had 8 aces in the 2nd set alone) pulled her back and she won 6-4/7-6(2).

Conchita Martinez is the Spanish Bracelet.


ACTIONS SPEAKING LOUDER THAN WORDS ON NIGHT 5: During the Venus/Serena match on ESPN, in-the-corner "Tournament Update" graphics throughout displayed in-match score updates for Wawrinka/Raonic, Isner/Lajovic and Coric/Medvedev... but never once included Barty/Muchova, the *other* MD singles match taking place at the same time. Hmmm.

LIKE ON NIGHT 5: Remember, though, Angie knows how to turn out the lights, too.



LIKE ON NIGHT 5: The Alize Effect







*MOST MATCH-UPS IN OPEN ERA*
80 - Evert/Navratilova
46 - Evert/Wade
43 - Navratilova/Shriver
40 - Goolagong/Wade
40 - Graf/Sabatini
39 - Evert/Goolagong
36 - Mandlikova/Navratilova
36 - Graf/Sanchez Vicario
34 - Navratilova/Turnbull
33 - Court/Casals
33 - Austin/Navratilova
33 - Graf/Novotna
31 - King/Wade
30 - WILLIAMS/WILLIAMS
[slams]
22 - Evert/Navratilova
16 - WILLIAMS/WILLIAMS
13 - Graf/Sanchez Vicario
13 - Evert/Mandlikova

*VENUS vs. SERENA*
1998 Aust.Open 2nd (HO) = Venus 7-6(4),6-1
1998 Rome QF (RC) = Venus 6-4,6-2
1999 Miami F (HO) = Venus 6-1,4-6,6-4
1999 Grand Slam Cup F (Carp) = Serena 6-1,3-6,6-3
2000 Wimbledon SF (G) = Venus 6-2,7-6(3)
2001 Indian Wells SF (HO) = Serena (walkover)
2001 U.S. Open F (HO) = Venus 6-2,6-4
2002 Miami SF (HO) = Serena 6-2,6-2
2002 Roland Garros F (RC) = Serena 7-5,6-3
2002 Wimbledon F (G) = Serena 7-6(4),6-3
2002 U.S. Open F (HO) = Serena 6-3,6-4
2003 Australian Open F (HO) = Serena 7-6(4),3-6,6-4
2003 Wimbledon F (G) = Serena 4-6,6-4,6-2
2005 Miami QF (HO) = Venus 6-1/7-6(8)
2005 U.S. Open 4th (HO) = Venus 7-6(5)/6-2
2008 Bangalore SF (HO) = Serena 6-3/3-6/7-6(4)
2008 Wimbledon F (G) = Venus 7-5/6-4
2008 U.S. Open QF (HO) = Serena 7-6(6),7-6(7)
2008 WTA Chmp rr (HO) = Venus 5-7,6-1,6-0
2009 Dubai SF (HO) = Venus 6-1,2-6,7-6(3)
2009 Miami SF (HO) = Serena 6-4,3-6,6-4
2009 Wimbledon F (G) = Serena 7-6(3),6-2
2009 WTA Chsp rr (HO) = Serena 5-7,6-4,7-6(4)
2009 WTA Chsp F (HO) = Serena 6-2,7-6(4)
2013 Charleston SF (GC) = Serena 6-1/6-2
2014 Montreal SF (HO) = Venus 6-7(2)/6-2/6-3
2015 Wimbledon 4th (G) = Serena 6-4/6-3
2015 U.S. Open QF (HO) = Serena 6-2/1-6/6-3
2017 Aust.Open F (HO) = Serena 6-4/6-4
2018 Indian Wells 3rd (HO) = Venus 6-3/6-4 (first after Serena baby)
2018 U.S. Open 3rd (HO) = Serena 6-1/6-2
==
OVERALL: Serena 18-12
GRAND SLAMS: Serena 11-5
-AO: Serena 2-1
-RG: Serena 1-0
-WI: Serena 4-2
-US: Serena 4-2
HARD: Serena 11-9
GRASS: Serena 4-2
CLAY: Serena 2-1
CARPET: Serena 1-0
==
WINNER OF 1st SET is 26-4
MATCH POINT OVERCOME TO WIN: 2
-Serena/Bangalore '08
-Serena/WTA Chsp. '09
3-SET MATCHES: 11 (Serena 7-4)
TIE-BREAKS: Serena 8-6
TOTAL SETS: Serena 41-32
TOTAL GAMES: Serena 349, Venus 344
==
BY NATION...
12 USA: Serena 7-5
6 England: Serena 4-2
3 Australia: Serena 2-1
3 Qatar: Serena 2-1
1 Canada: Venus 1-0
1 France: Serena 1-0
1 Germany: Serena 1-0
1 India: Serena 1-0
1 Italy: Venus 1-0
1 UAE: Venus 1-0





All for Night 5. More tomorrow.
↧

US.6 - Summer Stars Don't Always Shine in the Big City

September 1, 2018, 4:22 pm
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If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. But the act of making it there is no given, even if you arrived as a summer star.

In New York on Day 6, what you did before this U.S. Open was proven to mean absolutely nothing, as players who made it to the first weekend of the season's final slam with something resembling wind at their back were shown the exit door before the sun was replaced in the sky by the moon.



#13 Kiki Bertens was a developing revelation in recent months as she showed herself to be something other than a "clay court specialist" while reaching the Wimbledon QF on grass and taking the Cincinnati crown on hard court, knocking off eight Top 10 players since the start of play at SW19 (she'd had five such wins -- all on clay -- in her CAREER a few months ago, and two of THOSE came earlier this season, as well).

But today the Dutch woman was bested by the world #103, 19-year old Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova, who has had a difficult time following up her initial tour-level success early last season in just her second career tour MD appearance, a title run in Biel at age 17.

Vondrousova had reached her first slam 3rd Round with wins over a lucky loser (Mona Barthel) and a qualifier (Genie Bouchard), but she was the hunter against far bigger prey on this day as she wielded her forehand as a weapon against Bertens, who couldn't avoid continually falling victim to the Czech's forehand winners down the line, nor lift her game late in a pair of tight sets which were ultimately decided by tie-breaks.

Bertens had seemed in control in the 1st, breaking for a 3-2 lead and serving for the set at 5-4. But she fell behind love/40 and was broken, then saw Vondrousova save BP a game later and hold for 6-5. Things went to a TB, where the Czech led 5-0 before holding on for a 7-4 win. Bertens rallied from an early break deficit in the 2nd to knot the match by taking a 6-2 set, but again saw her younger opponent stage a comeback to grab the 3rd. Bertens led 4-2, but soon found herself down 6-5 with Vondrousova serving for the match. From 30/30, Bertens' groundstroke and volley winners on back-to-back points got the break to force another TB. But again Vondrousova was the better player in the race to seven points. A drop shot and pass combo gave the Maiden a 3-1 lead. Two points later, Bertens got back an awkward short-bouncing ball in the middle of the court, then saw Vondrousova race from the backcourt to chase it down and fire a forehand down the line that went off the racket of the Dutch woman, unfortunately trapped between the front and back court and giving her opponent any number of targets at which to aim to claim the point. Vondrousova led 5-1. Bertens' error ended things two points later, with the Czech winning 7-6(4)/2-6/7-6(1) to reach her first slam Round of 16.



But Bertens wasn't the summer's biggest star to fall on Day 6. The #4-seeded Wimbledon champ, and the winner of this very tournament two years ago, was the next to go.

Angelique Kerber had managed to arrive in the city without a lot of fanfare, only making a few cameo appearances in North American tune-ups in the aftermath of her title run at the AELTC. It seemed a good scenario for success. She won in straight sets against a game Margarita Gasparyan in the 1st Round, and avoided a disaster in the 2nd after Johanna Larsson had forced a 3rd set after the German led 6-2/5-2 and held 2 MP.

Against #30 Dominika Cibulkova, Kerber faced off with a player against whom she'd gone 7-5 over the last decade, and 7-1 since 2014. The Slovak won just 4 and 6 total games against her in their two previous '18 meetings in Sydney and Eastbourne. Only one of Kerber's seven wins in their last eight meetings had gone three sets, though that one came in the '16 WTA Finals that ultimately ended with Cibulkova as the Cinderella champion. So that she's capable of *anything* -- and never stops fighting -- was never in doubt.

So when Kerber passed Cibulkova to break for a 4-3 lead in the 1st, then broke again to win it 6-3, no one expected a cakewalk. Right on cue. the veteran Slovak went up 3-0 in the 2nd, and won it 6-3 to knot the match. She took a 3-1 lead in the 3rd, as well. But when a fist-pumping Kerber broke -- on her fifth BP -- Cibulkova to get back on serve at 3-2 it appeared as if the three-time slam champ had found her path to victory.

But then Cibulkova went up 15/40 a game later, and Kerber's game-ending forehand error gave her back the break advantage she'd just lost. Before you knew it, Kerber's comeback chances were dwindling to nothing, then disappeared entirely. Cibulkova won the set 6-3 to advance to her first Round of 16 at Flushing Meadows since 2010, making Kerber the THIRD (after #1 Halep and #2 Wozniacki) Top 4 women's seed to lose on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium's "Upset Court" in the first three rounds of the structure's debut U.S. Open.



Cibulkova always seems to find herself performing in the role of "spoiler," snuffing out fan favorites in big events, but then never managing to win the *truly* big one (i.e. a major, not the WTAF) herself. She'll get the chance again in the next round, as well, as she'll see a Bannerette on the other side of the net.

She made it *here*, but can she make it *there*?



=DAY 6 NOTES=
...the winner of the Kerber/Cibulkova match was always expected to next face '17 Open finalist Madison Keys, the #14 seed. But after her opponent, Aleksandra Krunic, had managed to overcome her post-maiden tour title slump and make her way into the 3rd Round in New York for the third time since 2014, it wasn't a given that the Serb's game of tricky variety and gutsy guile wouldn't be effective against a big-hitting player who *sometimes* can be made to beat herself in the sort of hail of errors that Krunic's game style is capable of producing.

Krunic was feeling good coming into the match, as wielding "firing power" is apparently also mood-enhancing.




Backpin's favorite Bracelet played like it, too, using drop shots, lobs, big returns, etc. to keep Keys off balance. Wearing shoes that had "Komarac" -- Serbian for "gnat," or "bug" -- emblazoned on their sides, she played the role of pesky/pesty protagonist against the home player. She broke Keys to lead 3-1 in the 1st and held onto her advantage. An ace gave her a 40/love lead at 5-4, and she secured the set on her third set point with a Keys return error. Keys whiffed on an overhead in the opening game of the 2nd, and had to save a BP before getting the hold. She then broke Krunic for a 2-0 lead, wrong-footing the Serb with a shot behind her. Krunic fell on the baseline, scraping her left knee and leaving it dripping a trail of blood down her leg through the next game, also won by Keys. She took the set 6-1.

The 3rd set opened with five straight breaks of serve. Keys took a 1-0 lead, only to see Krunic reach triple BP and level the score in the next game. In game #5, Krunic held two GP at 40/15, only to drop serve again. Keys then *saved* two BP in game #6 and held for 4-2. One might have expected the trend to continue and for Fed Cup Warrior Krunic to treat the final games as if she was playing for the honor of Serbia or something. But it just didn't happen. Rather than engage in a tooth-and-nail battle to the finish, Krunic seemed to take a half-step back as Keys stepped up to take control. She broke Krunic to lead 5-2 and then directed the final point of the day to her liking as she served for the match, dragging the Serb from corner to corner on MP and then ending the 4-6/6-1/6-2 victory with a outright winner.



She'll next see Cibulkova, who'll again try to crash yet another party, eat all the snacks, and then (probably) slip out the back door when nobody's looking.

...#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro finished off the second half of the former Pastry doubles combo of Garcia & Mladenovic. After coming back from 3-1 down in the 3rd two day ago against Kristina Mladenovic, the Spaniard dropped the opening set to #6 Caroline Garcia, but took things deep into the 3rd with the set knotted at 5-5. Garcia DF'd to fall behind 15/40, but handled the pressure well and held serve, sealing it with back-to-back winners to lead 6-5. But CSN rallied from a 15/30 deficit a game later to force a deciding TB, where she jumped ahead at 4-2 and never allowed Garcia to turn back the momentum. Suarez-Navarro won the breaker 7-4 to reach her third straight U.S. Open Round of 16, and eighth in the last twelve majors.



Meanwhile, after staging comebacks in both of her first two matches at Flushing Meadows (when back-to-back opponents served for the match, but she won anyway), Katerina Siniakova did today what she tends to do at this stage of her career. Namely, not really follow up on her potential (in singles), falling 6-4/6-0 on Saturday to Lesia Tsurenko.

It's sort of par for the course for the Czech, who won her first two tour titles last year yet still managed to finish 2017 with the same ranking she'd ended with in '16 (#49). For all she's done of late in doubles (RG/WI titles), she's never ranked higher than #36 in singles (she came into this Open at #54) despite reaching five tour-level finals in a time span of a little more than two years.

...the final women's 3rd Round match of the day session was the most brutal, with Aliaksandra Sasnovich failing to record even a single game against the Great Wave of Osaka, the #20-seeded Naomi. Already in her sixth straight slam 3rd Round, she now reaches her second Round of 16 (w/ AO) of the year with a 6-0/6-0 win over the Belarusian. Sasnovich's day ended with her seventh DF. Meanwhile, Osaka won 78% of her first serves, and 71% of her seconds, converted 6 of 8 BP chances, committed just three UE and won 51 of the match's 68 points.



...in doubles, #14 Atawo/Groenefeld advanced past Vika Azarenka & Latisha Chan after the latter duo retired after five games. Don't worry, it wasn't Vika. Whew! The pair was down 4-0, broke for 4-1, then a few minutes later Chan was shaking her surprised opponents' hands and hugging Azarenka before walking off the court, alone and into the ether. The whole thing lasted just nineteen minutes.

Sam Stosur & Zhang Shuai knocked off #4 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan 6-2/7-6(2), providing further evidence for my notion that the Aussie, currently sinking in the singles rankings, should think about going back to her doubles roots for the final chapter of her career. She was on a potential Hall of Fame doubles player tract early on, then became a slam-winning singles star. Three years of great doubles results, and a couple more slams (she's already one of the few players of her generation to have won WS/WD/MX major titles) might pave a legitimate path to Newport, if she's interested in such a thing.

Elsewhere, Elise Mertens played ANOTHER match (#103), joining with Demi Schuurs to defeat Diatchenko/Gasparyan 6-4/6-0. Also winning: Barty/Vandeweghe and Hradecka/Makarova.

...the USTA schedulers, in their infinite wisdom (or not), have scheduled BOTH of (quite possibly) the most anticipated Day 6 matches for the night schedule AT THE SAME TIME. Of course, due to match overruns on Armstrong, Sharapova/Ostapenko (w/ the Russian sporting a 21-0 mark under the lights on Ashe) and Kvitova/Sabalenka (on Armstrong) might *not* fully take place simultaneously. But, still, why shut out the daytime hours so neither of these take place under the sun, or have both take played at a time when neither can be fully focused on?

At any rate, it means this is another "U.S. Open at Night" posting day. Grrrr.

With the 3rd Round over (later on), I'll also have the usual "Lists-a-Palooza" for the Final 16.



LIKE ON DAY 6: One of the people watching in the stands? Kathy Rinaldi. Hmmm.



LIKE ON DAY 6: The Conchita-Karolina Amalgamation



LIKE ON DAY 6: I hear that Federling guy is pretty good.



IN SLOVENIAN TENNIS NEWS ON DAY 6:




...and, finally...

I always viewed Lyle Lovett as part of a two-headed country music chaos machine along with k.d. lang. Both of their careers hit their stride at the same time, and they maintained an iconoclastic presence in a genre that had held firmly to tradition for far too long.

Perhaps no artist fused traditional country music with jazz, blues and all sorts of other styles better than Lovett, a self-deprecating Texas singer/songwriter who often performed with an understated air while daring his audience to wait for his smirk-inducing lyrics to hit them right in the face. It was something of a game when hearing one of his songs -- and even better when *watching* him perform it -- for the first time, wondering when the "punch line" was going to come. It often did, allowing him to flash his crooked smile while his band members shook their heads behind him. Sometimes, though, he played it straight, revealing himself to be able to be as "traditional" as the next singer. When he wanted to be.

Known for the unruly "mess" atop his head between close-cropped hair on the sides, a wry sense of humor and, yes, even his (brief) shocking marriage to superstar Julia Roberts (1993-95), it's safe to say that Lovett was and still is an original.

A few of his songs, as well as a some wait-for-it lyrics...

["Here I Am" and "She's Hot to Go" - w/ Francine Reed;
on "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson"]

["Creeps Like Me"]
And I keep my uncle Leon
In my closet
In my closet
There don't nobody know
Just me and uncle Leon
And my closet
And they wonder
Where'd that old man go

Look around and you will see
This world is full of creeps like me
You look surprised
You shouldn't be
This world is full of creeps like me

["If I Had a Boat"]
If I were Roy Rogers
I'd sure enough be single
I couldn't bring myself to marrying old Dale
It'd just be me and Trigger
We'd go ridin' through them movies
Then we'd buy a boat and on the sea we'd sail

And if I had a boat
I'd go out on the ocean
And if I had a pony
I'd ride him on my boat
And we could all together
Go out on the ocean
I said me upon my pony on my boat

Now the mystery masked man was smart
He got himself a Tonto
'Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free
But Tonto he was smarter
And one day said kemo sabe
Kiss my ass I bought a boat
I'm going out to sea

["I've Been to Memphis"]

["Once is Enough"]
I used to be so much more open minded
And I used to like to fall in love
And they tell me I was so much sweeter and kinder
But once is enough

Yeah I used to be Mr. Understanding
I used to could listen and not interrupt
But now I'm a different man than that man then
'Cause once is enough

["Nobody Knows Me" - showing he can be a touhching and delicate singer, too]

It was always something of a dream of mine for Lovett and lang to record together, as the combination begged for a one-of-a-kind song filled with soaring vocals *and* sly humor coming together to produce something, well, odd. As it should be. They *did* record a song together, a version of "Release Me" in 2012, but it was *such* a traditional-sounding effort that it's almost disappointing. Oh, well. Maybe some day.

["Release Me" - w/ k.d. lang]




=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
Kaia Kanepi/ESP vs. #17 Serena Williams/USA
#18 Ash Barty/AUS vs. #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#3 Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #15 Elise Mertens/BEL
#19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT vs. #7 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. x
#14 Madison Keys/USA vs. #29 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
x vs. #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
Marketa Vondrousova/JPN vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. (PR) L.Kichenok/Siegemund (UKR/GER)
S.Hsieh/Sabalenka (TPE/BLR) vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
#3 S.-Hlavackova/Strycova (CZE/CZE) vs. #13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA)
Hibino/Kalashnikova (JPN/GEO) vs. Jakupovic/Khromacheva (SLO/RUS)
Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) vs. (WC) Dolehide/McHale (USA/USA)
(PR) Bacsinszky/Zvonareva (SUI/RUS) vs. Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN)
#6 Hradecka/Makarova vs. Linette/Tomljanovic (POL/AUS)
#14 Atawo/Groenefeld (USA/GER) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)









NYC

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Beast mode 🔛 ! Last16 @usopen ⚡️

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**U.S. OPEN "BROADWAY-BOUND" WINNERS**
2010 Vania King, USA
2011 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2012 "Future Sloane" (Stephens), USA
2013 Camila Giorgi, ITA
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2015 Lisa Raymond, USA
2016 Kayla Day, USA
2017 Sharapova vs. Halep ("Opening Night")
2018 Kaia Kanepi, ESP

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[GER Champions]
1988 Steffi Graf
1989 Steffi Graf
1993 Steffi Graf
1995 Steffi Graf
1996 Steffi Graf
2016 Angelique Kerber
[GER Finalists]
1987 Steffi Graf
1990 Steffi Graf
1994 steffi Graf
[GER Semifinalists]
1973 Helga Masthoff
1985 Steffi Graf
1986 Steffi Graf
1991 Steffi Graf
2011 Angelique Kerber
[GER Quarterfinalists]
1975 Katja Ebbinghaus
1979 Sylvia Hanika
1981 Sylvia Hanika
1983 Sylvia Hanika
1984 Sylvia Hanika
1985 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
1987 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
1992 Steffi Graf
1999 Anke Huber
2000 Anke Huber
2011 Andrea Petkovic

**BACKSPIN 2018 FRESH FACE AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Elise Mertens, BEL
AO: Elise Mertens, BEL
FEB/MAR: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
I.W./MIAMI: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
1Q: DASHA KASATKINA, RUS
APR: Elise Mertens, BEL
MAY: Elise Mertens, BEL
RG: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2Q Clay Court: ELISE MERTENS, BEL
JUN: Ash Barty, AUS
WI: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2Q Grass Court: DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (WC)
JUL/AUG: Anastasia Potapova, RUS
AUG: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
[2018 Weekly FRESH FACE Award Wins]
5 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
4 - Amanda Anisimova, USA
4 - Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
3 - Ash Barty, AUS
3 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
3 - Sonya Kenin, USA
3 - Anett Kontaveit, EST
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL
3 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2 - Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
2 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
2 - Claire Liu, USA
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2 - Fanny Stollar, HUN
2 - Katie Swan, GBR
2 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO

**BEST 2018 SLAM RESULTS**
[qualifiers]
4th Rd. - Denisa Allertova, CZE (AO)
4th Rd. - Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (WI)
3rd Rd. - Marta Kostyuk, UKR (AO)
3rd Rd. - Luksika Kumkhum, THA (AO)
3rd Rd. - Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS (WI)
3rd Rd. - Karolina Muchova, CZE (US)
2nd Rd. - Caroline Dolehide, USA (RG)
2nd Rd. - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (RG)
2nd Rd. - Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (RG)
2nd Rd. - Georgina Garcia Perez, ESP (RG)
2nd Rd. - Magdalena Frech, POL (RG)
2nd Rd. - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (RG)
2nd Rd. - Genie Bouchard, CAN (WI)
2nd Rd. - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (WI)
2nd Rd. - Claire Liu, USA (WI)
2nd Rd. - Sara Sorribes-Tormo, ESP (WI)
2nd Rd. - Viktoriya Tomova, BUL (WI)
2nd Rd. - Genie Bouchard, CAN (US)
2nd Rd. - Francesca Di Lorenzo, USA (US)
2nd Rd. - Julia Glushko, ISR (US)
2nd Rd. - Anhelina Kalinina, UKR (US)
2nd Rd. - Jil Teichmann, SUI (US)
2nd Rd. - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (US)



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("??"): Nominee: Louis Armstrong Stadium ("Upset Court" - three of top 4 women's seeds fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 4th Rd.: Keys, Stephens, S.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 6. More tonight.
↧

US 6.5 - Aryna's Appetite for Destruction

September 1, 2018, 10:58 pm
$
0
0
And on Night 6... a hungry Aryna Sabalenka prowled the night like a big cat searching for a meal.



After a day session in which some major summer stars were sent packing on the first day of September, 20-year old Sabalenka proved that with the proper appetite *some* summer stars are more starry (or summer-y?) than others. Faced with the notion, in the third match in her maiden U.S. Open MD run, of taking out #5 Petra Kvitova the powerful Belarusian barely even blinked at the task on Saturday evening. Of course, why would she? After all, she came into the night with a 13-2 North American hard court record this summer, a stretch with included four Top 10 wins, multiple victories from MP down, her maiden tour title and her first Top 20 ranking. Now it includes a third Top 5 victory and her first slam Round of 16 result, as well.

#26 Sabalenka was on top of Kvitova from the jump, tracking her down and reaching BP in the opening game of the match. The Czech saved it with a favorable net cord bounce, then held with an ace. But the Belarusian got her break two games later, and nearly did it again in game #5. But Kvitova after had staved off going down double-break she got the set back on serve at 3-3 a game later.

Grumbling-for-sustenance, though, Sabalenka wasn't to be denied. She broke Kvitova again on BP #3 of the game to lead 4-3, then saved a BP to hold. She served for the set at 5-4, only to see Kvitova knot the score with a big return on BP #3. The Belarusian's reply bounced off the net but didn't make it over onto the Czech's side of the court. With Kvitova fighting her unforced error total and in-reverse serving numbers, Sabalenka struck again with the set hanging in the balance, taking a 15/40 lead in game #11 and going up 6-5 when the Czech netted a backhand. With a 30/love lead after firing a forehand winner down the line while she was falling back at the baseline, she closed on the net to put away another forehand winner to reach triple set point. She secured her 1st set meal 7-5 set with a backhand down the line.

While Sabalenka was winning 51% of her return points in the 1st, and carving out twice as many BP (10 to 5, converting 3) as Kvitova, the Czech has 23 UE, got just 54% of her first serves in, and won a paltry 27% of her second serves.

Sabalenka's down the line forehand into the corner got the early 2nd set break to lead 2-1, and the feast was nearly upon us. Taking a 15/40 lead in game #5, she broke for 4-1. Going up 40/love on serve, she held for 5-1. Up 15/40 on Kvitova's serve in game #7, she then saw the Czech DF to bring down the curtain on a 7-5/6-1 win for the Belarusian.



Kvitova never did manage to improve her service numbers, After winning 68% of the few first serves she got in in the 1st, she won just 45% of them in the 2nd, while seeing her second serve win percentage dip even lower (to 22%) in the set. She had ten total DF. Additionally, the #5-seeded Czech's loss was the fourth by a Top 5 woman on Louis Armstrong at this Open, as hers slots in behind the early losses by #1 Simona Halep, #2 Caroline Wozniacki and #4 Angelique Kerber. The debuting court also hosted the demise of multiple slam winner Garbine Muguruza and summertime star Kiki Bertens. #3 Sloane Stephens can breathe easy, though. At least for now. She's scheduled to play on Ashe tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka's win sets up an all-Generation PDQ match in the Round of 16 with Naomi Osaka.

[Let us take this time to have a moment of silence for the tennis balls that will sacrifice their fuzz in that one.... amen.]

All right, who's hungry. Put your hand down, Aryna... save some for everyone else.



=NIGHT 6 NOTES=
...Saturday night's premiere attraction under the lights was supposed to take place in the form of #10 Alona Ostapenko vs. #22 Maria Sharapova. They'd met for the first time in the spring in Rome, with the Russian winning a 7-5 3rd set. Both had been streaky in their two previous matches at Flushing Meadows, with the Latvian being sometimes-lethal but inconsistent and generally poor-serving vs. Andrea Petkovic and Taylor Townsend, and the Russian performing at a level somewhere between patchy and sometimes bad vs. Patty Schnyder and Sorana Cirstea before *finally* finding her game in the back half of the 2nd set vs. the Romanian.

The first game showed the great promise of the match, as Ostapenko managed to hold serve in a 9-deuce, 24-point game in which she saved five BP. Oh, boy... here we go, right? Umm, no.

From that point forward, the Latvian pretty much had to be cursing the person who invented this thing called "the serve." And the replay challenge, too, for that matter. She had some misses there that were *nearly* as big and crazy. And the unforced error stat, too, since that wasn't going her way, either. She rarely got the better of the ultra-short rallies that would dominate the contest, usually because an error off *her* racket was the culprit.

Sharapova did break Ostapenko's serve two games later, then again two games after that. But the 21-year old saved set points to finally notch her second game in game #7, then quickly went up love/40 on Sharapova's serve a game later, breaking to close to 5-3. At this point, the facts of Sharapova's difficulties closing out sets and matches since her comeback and Ostapenko's ability to pick up momentum and run over an opponent with her blistering power shots seemed set to create a perfect storm that would lead to sudden d-r-a-m-a.

But, umm, no.

Ostapenko quickly felt behind love/40, with her serve being preyed upon by Sharapova, who broke at love to take the set 6-3. Ostapenko had just 6 winners vs. 27 UE's in the set's nine games.

Ostapenko got the break (via a Sharapova DF) in game #1, but then fell behind love/40 in her third consecutive service game and was broken moments later. The Latvian got the break back, but gave it right away. Finally, Sharapova held for 3-2, then went up 15/40 on Ostapenko's serve in game #6, getting the break with a DF. The thought *now* was that maybe Ostapenko should just leave her serve on the sidewalk after the match in hopes that the pizza rat might drag it into the sewer. Or not... he'd probably just leave it there.


Sharapova fired an ace to hold for 5-2, then Ostapenko's forehand error (UE #41, to just 10 winners -- yes, Latvian Thunder had just TEN winners for a full match) a game later ended the 6-3/6-2 affair. Ostapenko won just 43% of her first serves, and 39% of her seconds, while compiling six DF as she was broken seven times in the match.



The win puts Sharapova into her 39th major Round of 16, and seventh in New York. The last hope for Russia in the draw, her three wins have managed to land a Hordette in the 4th Round of a major for the 70th time in the last 73 slams. It's happened at the Open every year but one (2016, when Sharapova wasn't there) since 2000.



With tonight's results the bottom half of the draw consists of the #14, #20, #22, #26, #29, #30 seeds and two unseeded players. Or *seven* of eight unseeded players had the Powers That Be gone through with the whole 16-seeds thing next year. Thankfully, though, they've at least apparently now come to their senses about *that*.



FACTS ON NIGHT 6:



NUMBERS ON NIGHT 6: 22-0 under the lights on Ashe






=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
Kaia Kanepi/ESP vs. #17 Serena Williams/USA
#18 Ash Barty/AUS vs. #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#3 Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #15 Elise Mertens/BEL
#19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT vs. #7 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #22 Maria Sharapova/RUS
#14 Madison Keys/USA vs. #29 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
#26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
Marketa Vondrousova/JPN vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR



*2018 U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#3 - Sloane Stephens
#7 - Elina Svitolina
#8 - Karolina Pliskova
#15 - Elise Mertens
#17 - Ash Barty
#18 - Anastasija Sevastova
#19 - Naomi Osaka
#20 - Aryna Sabalenka
#22 - Maria Sharapova
#23 - Madison Keys
#24 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
#26 - Serena Williams
#35 - Dominika Cibulkova
#36 - Lesia Tsurenko
#44 - Kaia Kanepi
#103 - Marketa Vondrousova
[by age]
36...Serena Williams
33...Kaia Kanepi
31...Maria Sharapova
29...Dominika Cibulkova, Carla Suarez-Navarro, Lesia Tsurenko
28...Anastasija Sevastova
26...Karolina Pliskova
25...Sloane Stephens
23...Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina
22...Ash Barty, Elise Mertens
20...Naomi Osaka, Ayrna Sabalenka
19...Marketa Vondrousova
[by nation]
3...USA (Keys,Stephens,S.Williams)
2...CZE (Ka.Pliskova,Vondrousova)
2...UKR (Svitolina,Tsurenko)
1...AUS (Barty)
1...BEL (Mertens)
1...BLR (Sabalenka)
1...ESP (Suarez-Navarro)
1...EST (Kanepi)
1...JPN (Osaka)
1...LAT (Sevastova)
1...RUS (Sharapova)
1...SVK (Cibulkova)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
58 - Serena Williams
39 - Maria Sharapova
15 - Carla Suarez-Navrro
11 - Madison Keys
11 - Sloane Stephens
10 - Dominika Cibulkova
8 - Kaia Kanepi
7 - Karolina Pliskova
7 - Elina Svitolina
4 - Anastasija Sevastova
3 - Elise Mertens
3 - Lesia Tsurenko
2 - Naomi Osaka
1 - Ash Barty
1 - Aryna Sabalenka
1 - Marketa Vondrousova
[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
3...Serena Williams
2...Dominika Cibulkova
2...Karolina Pliskova
-
NOTE: S.Williams 13 in last 13 slam appearances
[w/ multiple career US Round of 16's]
17 - Serena Williams
7 - Maria Sharapova
5 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
4 - Kaia Kanepi
4 - Madison Keys
3 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Anastasija Sevastova
3 - Sloane Stephens
2 - Dominika Cibulkova
2 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Lesia Tsurenko
[w/ consecutive US Round of 16's]
4 - Madison Keys
3 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Anastasija Sevastova
3 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
2 - Kaia Kanepi
2 - Maria Sharapova
2 - Sloane Stephens
2 - Elina Svitolina
-
NOTE: S.Williams in last 17 app.(since 1999); Sharapova in last 4 app. (since 2012)
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
58...Serena Williams
50...Venus Williams
39...Maria Sharpova
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova
27...Aga Radwanska
23...Victoria Azarenka
22...Jelena Jankovic
21...Patty Schnyder, Caroline Wozniacki
18...Angelique Kerber,Francesca Schiavone
16...Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva
15...Ekaterina Makarova, Carla Suarez-Navarro
13...Simona Halep
12...Samantha Stosur
11...Madison Keys, Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens
10...Marion Bartoli, Dominika Cibulkova
8...Kaia Kanepi, Sabine Lisicki, Lucie Safarova
7...Sara Errani, Peng Shuai, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina
[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2010 - active]
26...Serena Williams
22...Maria Sharapova
19...Aga Radwanska
18...Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber
17...Caroline Wozniacki
15...Ekaterina Makarova, Venus Williams
14...Svetlana Kuznetsova, Petra Kvitova
13...Simona Halep, Carla Suarez-Navarro
11...Madison Keys, Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens
10...Jelena Jankovic, Samantha Stosur
8...Dominika Cibulkova, Francesca Schiavone
7...Sara Errani, Kaia Kanepi, Sabine Lisicki, Peng Shuai, Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova, Elina Svitolina
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - youngest]
19 - Marketa Vondrousova (US)
20 - Naomi Osaka (AO)
20 - Naomi Osaka (US)
20 - Aryna Sabalenka (US)
21 - Belinda Bencic (WI)
21 - Dasha Kasatkina (RG)
21 - Dasha Kasatkina (WI)
21 - Alona Ostapenko (WI)
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - oldest]
36 - Serena Williams (US)
36 - Serena Williams (WI)
36 - Serena Williams (RG)
33 - Kaia Kanepi (US)
32 - Hsieh Su-wei (WI)
32 - Hsieh Su-wei (AO)
32 - Barbora Strycova (RG)
31 - Maria Sharapova (US)
31 - Maria Sharapova (RG)
31 - Barbora Strycova (AO)
30 - Angelique Kerber (WI)
30 - Angelique Kerber (RG)
30 - Angelique Kerber (AO)
30 - Mihaela Buzarnescu (RG)
30 - Ekaterina Makarova (WI)
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - unseeded]
AO - Denisa Allertova, CZE (Q)
AO - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
AO - Petra Martic, CRO
AO - Elise Mertens, BEL
AO - Naomi Osaka, JPN
AO - Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
RG - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
RG - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
RG - Serena Williams, USA (PR)
WI - Belinda Bencic, SUI
WI - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
WI - Camila Giorgi, ITA
WI - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
WI - Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
WI - Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (Q)
WI - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
WI - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
WI - Donna Vekic, CRO
US - Kaia Kanepi, EST
US - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
US - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.]
AO - Denisa Allertova, CZE
AO - Elise Mertens, BEL
AO - Naomi Osaka, JPN
RG - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
WI - Evgeniya Rodina, RUS
WI - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
WI - Donna Vekic, CRO
US - Ash Barty, AUS
US - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
US - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - lowest-ranked]
#451 - Serena Williams (RG) - PR
#181 - Serena Williams (WI) - PR
#130 - Denisa Allertova (AO)
#120 - Evgeniya Rodina (WI)
#103 - Marketa Vondrousova (US)
#98 - Yulia Putintseva (RG)
#88 - Hsieh Su-wei (AO)
#81 - Petra Martic (AO)
#72 - Naomi Osaka (AO)
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's]
3...Angelique Kerber (AO/RG/WI)
3...Madison Keys (AO/RG/US)
3...Elise Mertens (AO/RG/US)
3...Karolina Pliskova (AO/WI/US)
3...Serena Williams (RG/WI/US)
2...Dominika Cibulkova (WI/US)
2...Caroline Garcia (AO/RG)
2...Simona Halep (AO/RG)
2...Hsieh Su-wei (AO/WI)
2...Dasha Kasatkina (RG/WI)
2...Anett Kontaveit (AO/RG)
2...Naomi Osaka (AO/US)
2...Maria Sharapova (RG/US)
2...Elina Svitolina (AO/US)
2...Sloane Stephens (RG/US)
2...Barbora Strycova (AO/RG)
2...Carla Suarez-Navarro (AO/US)
2...Lesia Tsurenko (RG/US)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (AO/RG)
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - by nation]
8...USA (1/3/1/3)
7...CZE (3/1/1/2)
6...RUS (0/2/3/1)
4...BEL (1/1/1/1)
4...GER (1/1/2/0)
4...UKR (1/1/0/2)
3...ESP (1/1/0/1)
3...EST (1/1/0/1)
3...ROU (1/2/0/0)
3...SVK (1/0/1/1)
2...BLR (0/0/1/1)
2...CRO (1/0/1/0)
2...DEN (1/1/0/0)
2...FRA (1/1/0/0)
2...JPN (1/0/0/1)
2...LAT (0/0/1/1)
2...TPE (1/0/1/0)
1...AUS (0/0/0/1)
1...ITA (0/0/1/0)
1...KAZ (0/1/0/0)
1...NED (0/0/1/0)
1...SUI (0/0/1/0)
[2018 slam Rd. of 16's - by region]
30 - Western Europe/Scandinavia (BEL-CRO-CZE-DEN-ESP-FRA-GER-ITA-NED-SUI-SVK)
20 - Eastern Europe/Russia (BLR-EST-LAT-ROU-RUS-UKR)
8 - North America/Atlantic (USA)
6 - Asia/Oceania (AUS-JPN-KAZ-TPE)
0 - Africa/Middle East (none)
0 - South America (none)


Whew!





All for Night 6. More tomorrow.
↧
↧

US.7 - Karolina in the City

September 2, 2018, 6:51 pm
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When Karolina Pliskova arrived in New York City, she was coming off a very "iffy" North American summer hard court campaign that made it quite simple to question her chances for success at this U.S. Open. But as she heads off into the tournament's second week, she seems to have settled into something of a comfort zone.



While the newly-wed Czech has had a good season, it just hasn't often seemed that way Maybe because of the expectations she stirred up two summers ago, it's generally felt as if it lacked a certain something. In fact, since 2016, she's struggled to find the top form in which her serve was a major weapon and the Czech looked to be the "most likely" next maiden slam champ. Since Pliskova reached the Open final two years ago, three first-time slam finalists have followed in her footsteps and four maiden major champs have been crowned. Pliskova has reached one major semi in that seven-slam period. While everyone else has been improving, she's stayed about the same, at best, and more likely taken a slight step back.

The 26-year old *was* a somewhat unexpected force during 2018's clay schedule, winning in Stuttgart and reaching the Madrid semis. Hard court, though, was where she shined the brightest in 2016-17, her two Top 10 seasons. This season, her results have been, well, fine on hard courts, but hardly "great." A Brisbane SF, and Australian Open, Indian Wells & Miami QF provided a good start, but it's traditionally been the North American summer stint where she's had her best extended run of results. Remember, she won the U.S. Open Series in 2015, the Cincinnati champ and U.S. Open finalist in '16 and, as the newly-christened women's #1 in July of '17, reached the Toronto and Cincy semis and was the top seed at Flushing Meadows (she reached the QF).

Of late, though, Pliskova's Top 10 ranking (which she's held for over 100 weeks, behind only Simona Halep's when it comes to active streaks) has seemed *this close* to being in jeopardy. Before the U.S. Open she'd gone a combined 9-10 on three surfaces since defeating Halep in the Madrid QF. After jettisoning coach Tomas Krupa before play in Cincinnati, Pliskova notched a long-time-coming win over Aga Radwanska in her first official match with new coach Rennae Stubbs, but then dropped two straight in the aftermath. Her 1 & 3 loss in the 1st Round in New Haven dropped her to 2-3 on summer HC after she'd gone a combined 18-7 the last three years during the same stretch.

With Stubbs so busy during the Open, Conchita Martinez was chosen to fill in for the Aussie at Flushing Meadows (just as she did for Garbine Muguruza last year at Wimbledon while Sam Sumyk was away, presiding over her fellow Spaniard's clean run to the title). With a Hall of Fame induction possible for Martinez by this time next year, her ongoing "good vibes" appear to be contagious.

The #8-seeded Pliskova has made a habit during this first week of play in New York of making things look routine. Since she showed up to play at Flushing Meadows, the Czech has started the process of slowly rolling back the clock. While she hasn't been as outwardly dominant at this Open as she often appeared two years ago, Pliskova has been a consistent, smart server who has maintained a no-sweat focus. And it's worked.

Against #18 Ash Barty today, Pliskova faced off against a player vs. whom she was just 1-2, with both losses coming in 3rd set tie-breaks, and with her lone win being in a match where she won in straight sets by sweeping a pair of breakers.

Barty played well in the 4th Round encounter, and one might assume after perusing much of the stat sheet that she'd advanced to reach her maiden slam quarterfinal, even when comparing her numbers with many of those of Pliskova's. The Aussie had 29 winners (vs. Pliskova's 16), and won just five fewer total points than her opponent. She out-aced the Czech (6-4), who's been consistently atop the tour lists in that category in recent seasons. She won 80% of her first serves (vs. 70% for the Czech), and had eight BP chances vs. just two that she faced on her own serve.

But none of that mattered. Pliskova won the match in straight sets, never being forced to a TB, despite a series of close games throughout and opportunities for the Aussie that went unclaimed in a 6-4/6-4 match that didn't really resemble its final scoreline.

A post shared by US Open (@usopen) on



By the end the match, while Barty's BP chances quadrupled those of Pliskova, she was 0-for-8 when it came to converting them, while Pliskova was 2-for-2. The Aussie only won 40% of her second serves. Meanwhile, the Czech won 54%. Pliskova pushed the action, first on serve with smart placement (often into the body) that allowed her to control the start of rallies on serve, and was the more aggressive of the two when it came to moving forward in the court. While Barty's court movement is more fluid and looks less forced than Pliskova's sometimes can, the Czech won 15-of-21 net points on the day vs. the more naturally-skilled doubles player Barty's 3-of-6 success rate.

In the moments in their Round of 16 match at which Barty had an opening, Pliskova founds way to shut the door. Serving up 4-3, she saved BPs and held by utilizing a well-positioned body serve that made it unnecessary to ace the Aussie, sweeping aside the challenge to take a 5-3 lead. Up 5-4, 40/love, the Czech was confident enough to follow her serve to the net, where she sent back two deep volleys and elicited a Barty error to take the set. Pliskova saved BP in game #2 of the 2nd, then took a break lead a game later. At 5-4, 30/love, the Czech saw Barty string together a passing shot and another winner into the open court to knot the game. But Pliskova wasn't worried. She calmly reached match point, then fired a wide serve to Barty's backhand that the Aussie couldn't get back.

A quarterfinalist for the third straight year at Flushing Meadows, Pliskova's play has been good enough for everyone to recall -- "Oh, yeah, she DID do that." -- that two years ago at the U.S. Open she became one of the few players (8) to defeat BOTH Williams Sisters in the same event, though she ultimately joined an even smaller group (4 strong) who didn't go on to win the tournament title.

The Czech can't duplicated that feet at this slam. But she *will* now get the opportunity to face off against *one* of the Sisters.



=DAY 7 NOTES=
...after the nearly flawless performance she put on against her sister two nights ago, #17-seeded six-time Open champ Serena Williams was rightly expected to advance past Kaia Kanepi today. After she blazed through the Estonian in an 18-minute (the shortest of the tournament) love 1st set, it seemed as if it'd be a blink-and-you-missed-it sort of deal.

But credit Kanepi for not folding up the tent and going home. She went up a break on Williams in the opening game of the 2nd set, then secured a double-break lead at 5-2. The 33-year old veteran then successfully held off a late rally by the 36-year old veteran (welcome to the Most Interesting Tour, which will tomorrow feature two 20-year olds facing off to possibly meet a 19-year old a round later), who'd gotten a quick break for 5-3 and staved off two SP before Kanepi finally won the 2nd at 6-4 on her third try.

In the 3rd, Williams did what she often does. She battled and roared (after game 1). See...



She held serve in two tight games, and broke Kanepi in the game in between, to lead 3-0. Serving at 5-3, up 40/love, she fired a forehand passing shot by Kanepi to close out the 6-0/4-6/6-3 win to reach her fifteen U.S. Open QF, and her tenth straight since 2007.

She's Serena Williams. That's just what she does.



...meanwhile, #19 Anastasija Sevastova continues to bring her best tennis to the U.S. Open, while #7 Elina Svitolina once again exited a slam under the massive weight of a flash-flood of a final set that leaves another bad taste in the mouth of an accomplished "regular" season player who often comes up very small in the clutch in the majors.

While the Lavtian had a hiccup in the 2nd set vs. the Ukrainian, losing it 6-1, she was in top form in the two sets that surrounded it, winning 6-3/1-6/6-0.



Sevastova moves on to her third straight U.S. Open quarterfinal, where she could meet defending champion Sloane Stephens (vs. Mertens tonight) for the second straight year. Last time, she had a break lead at 3-1 over the Bannerette in the final set, only to see Stephens surge back and go on to become a maiden slam winner.

For Svitolina, another season has now officially gone by without a maiden slam semifinal berth. When she wins her next singles title (unless Pavlyuchenkova beats her to it) she'll become the *only* player in tour history with thirteen tour-level WS titles without at least one career slam SF finish. That's one thing, though, as at just 23 years old Svitolina has time to right that personal wrong. What's worrisome is what has happened since she collapsed vs. Simona Halep in the Roland Garros QF last year (when she led 6-3/5-1, twice served for the match and held a MP). She lost the 3rd set in Paris vs. the Romanian at love in twenty minutes. Her love 3rd set today marks the fourth major of the last seven (and third in' 18) in which she went down in horrendous fashion in her final set:

2017 Roland Garros QF - 6-0 3rd set vs. Halep
2018 Australian Open QF - 6-0 2nd set vs. Mertens
2018 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - 6-1 3rd vs. Maria
2018 U.S. Open 4th Rd. - 6-0 3rd set vs. Sevastova

A few seasons ago, when she was working with Justine Henin, Svitolina seemed the most composed and best-problem solver on tour as she systematically, step-by-step climbed the WTA ladder. She's gotten tied up in more than a few rungs since she and LPT ended their official working relationship. The Ukrainian needn't go back to the Belgian to reclaim that part of her game, but she's most definitely got a problem that needs to be solved. Her and her team's offseason decision to trim down significantly -- perhaps to increase her foot speed -- doesn't seemed to have helped, and may have become a detriment as she may have lost some of her power in the process (sort of a "reverse-JJ" compared to when Jelena Jankovic at one point bulked up to increase power, but then lost the quickness that fueled her defensive prowess).

It's going to be an interesting offseason for Svitolina, who may need to tear things down before she can rebuild her foundation for slam success. Some housecleaning might be in order in an attempt to get things corrected. In fact, why wait until the winter. It should start NOW.

...in the last women's 4th Rounder on Sunday night, #3 Sloane Stephens proved why she very well may be able to defend her title. Showing great closing skill vs. #15 Elise Mertens, Stephens raised her performance in the final games of both sets, getting the break for 5-3 and serving out the 1st, then breaking from 40/15 down in game #7 for a 4-3 lead, then sweeping the remaining games of the 2nd set. Her forehand winner on MP put her into her third QF in her last five slams. She reached the final in both the other two.



...the junior draw began MD action today, with #1-seeded Coco Gauff ('17 finalist) notching a win over Switzerland's Lulu Sun (as expected, over her brief "fling" with New Zealand, I guess)in straight sets.



Elsewhere, #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (COL) knocked off Bannerette Natasha Subhash, and #8 Leylah Annie Fernandez (CAN) defeated Elysia Bolton (USA). 16-year old Latvian Kamilla Bartone upset #10 Maria Carle (ARG) 6-3/6-2. Last year, Carle reached the girls semifinals.

The seeds...

1. Coco Gauff, USA
2. Alexa Noel, USA
3. Wang Xiyu, CHN
4. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
5. Caty McNally, USA
6. Clara Tauson, DEN
7. Eleonora Molinaro, LUX
8. Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
9. Naho Sato, JPN
10. Maria Carle, ARG {OUT}
11. Clara Burel, FRA
12. Joanna Garland, TPE
13. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
14. Zheng Qinwen, CHN
15. Katie Volynets, USA
16. Lea Ma, USA

...in doubles, and Samantha Stosur (pssssst... HoF, Sam) & Zhang Shuai defeated Bacsinszky/Zvonareva in straights, and #2 Babos/Mladenovic defeated #14 Atawo/Groenefeld.



In mixed doubles, Gaby Dabrowski, who also lost early with partner Xu Yifan in WD, lost yesterday alongside Mate Pavic. They were the #1 seeds and winners of the MX title last year in Paris and this season in Melbourne. Mattek-Sands/J.Murray knocked off #8 Cabal/Spears today, while #7 Srebotnik/Venus lost a 16-14 3rd set TB to Olaru/Skugor. #4 L.Chan/Dodig (the reigning RG champs) gave a walkover to N.Kichenok/Koolhof.

...on the ITF circuit, Wimbledon girls champ Iga Swiatek won the $60K challenger held in Budapest. Unseeded, the 17-year old Pole dropped her opening 1st Round set at love to Reka-Luca Jani, then didn't lose another the entire tournament. She defeated #5 Jana Cepelova, #4 Silvia Soler Espinosa, Barbara Haas and #7 Katarina Zavatska in straight sets. Swiatek is now 6-0 in pro singles finals.



17-year old Slovenian Kaja Juvan picked up her third title of the season (5th career) at the $25K in Bagnatica, Italy, defeating Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-7(8)/6-1/7-5 in the final. It's her second consecutive final of the summer, third in her last four events, and fifth of seven since the opening week of May. She's won all three of her '18 titles during the stretch, going 28-4. She'll now climb into the Top 200 for the first time, two months before she turns 18.



And Chilean Fernanda Brito continued her remarkable ITF run, taking the $15K Ascuncion PAR final 6-2/6-2 over Brazil's Gabriela Ce. She's won 35 straight singles matches and played in eight straight finals, taking seven consecutive titles. She's in another doubles final, as well, playing for her 15th straight win and sixth title in an eight consecutive WD final run.

...at the U.S. Open USTA Wheelchair Championships in St.Louis, world #3 Aniek van Koot knocked off both #1 Diede de Groot (SF - 6-4/2-6/6-2) and #2 Yui Kamiji (F - 3-6/6-2/7-5) to take the title, her first at the event in eight appearances since 2009. De Groot had won twelve straight matches and was 7-1 in her last eight vs. her countrywoman, while Kamiji still holds a 22-17 head-to-head edge after her loss to the second-ranked Dutch player on the WC tour. Van Koot also won the doubles title with another player from the Netherlands, Marjolein Buis.



...and 15-year old Dane Clara Tauson (girls #9) picked up the title at the Grade 1 Les Internationaux de Tennis Junior Banque Nationale du Canada in Repentigny, defeating Ukraine's Viktoriia Dema 2-6/7-6(2)/7-5 in the final. She also reached the doubles final with Elisabetta Cocciaretto. This is Tauson's second G1 singles title of the season, along with her Perin Memorial win in March (she also reached a Grade A final in Porto Alegre that month). Tauson entered the week coming off a B1 title run in her last outing in July.






LIKE ON DAY 7: Original Martina



WHEN DANI GOES TO SoHo... ON DAY 7:




...and, finally...

Prince.

I don't think I need to go on about his history, right? It *is* hard to believe he's already been gone for more than two years, though.

A few of my favorite of his songs, as well as his superb Super Bowl halftime performance in Miami in 2007, when he sang "Purple Rain" in an actual downpour.

["Little Red Corvette"]

["Raspberry Beret"]

["1999"]

[Super Bowl halftime - 2007]

Here's one you almost never hear, but I always liked it (I was a little upset that it didn't make the cut for the Greatest Hits CD that was released after he died)...

["The Morning Papers"]

And while I wouldn't generally say that I like a cover of a Prince song better than the original, I *do* hold that opinion about "Kiss." I've always felt Prince used so much falsetto in his version of the song that the lyrics get lost, while the performance of the song by Tom Jones (*still* with a great voice at almost 80!) makes it seem as if the song was written FOR him. In fact, for a while, I'd stupidly convinced myself that it *was*, until I realized that, oh yeah, Prince *did* write and record the original... I'd totally forgotten.

["Kiss" - Tom Jones (1989 and 2016) - Art of Noise version]





=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#17 Serena Williams/USA def. Kaia Kanepi/ESP
#8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE def. #18 Ash Barty/AUS
#3 Sloane Stephens/USA def. #15 Elise Mertens/BEL
#19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. #7 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #22 Maria Sharapova/RUS
#14 Madison Keys/USA vs. #29 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
#26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
Marketa Vondrousova/JPN vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. (PR) L.Kichenok/Siegemund (UKR/GER)
S.Hsieh/Sabalenka (TPE/BLR) vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
#3 S.-Hlavackova/Strycova (CZE/CZE) vs. #13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA)
Jakupovic/Khromacheva (SLO/RUS) def. Hibino/Kalashnikova (JPN/GEO)
Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) vs. (WC) Dolehide/McHale (USA/USA)
Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN) def. (PR) Bacsinszky/Zvonareva (SUI/RUS)
#6 Hradecka/Makarova vs. Linette/Tomljanovic (POL/AUS)
#2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #14 Atawo/Groenefeld (USA/GER)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
(WC) McHale/C.Harrison (USA/USA) vs. #5 S.-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA)
N.Kichenok/Koolhof (UKR/NED) vs. Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR)
Olaru/Skugor (ROU/CRO) vs. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO)
Sh.Zhang/Peers (CHN/AUS) vs. #2 Melichar/Marach (USA/AUT)






















**RECENT U.S. OPEN GIRLS FINALS**
2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR def. Alexa Glatch/USA
2006 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS def. Tamira Paszek/AUT
2007 Kristina Kucova/SVK def. Urszula Radwanska/POL
2008 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA def. Gabriela Paz/VEN
2009 Heather Watson/GBR def. Yana Buchina/RUS
2010 Daria Gavrilova/RUS def. Yulia Putintseva/RUS
2011 Grace Min/USA def. Caroline Garcia/FRA
2012 Samantha Crawford/USA def. Anett Kontaveit/EST
2013 Ana Konjuh/CRO def. Tornado Alicia Black/USA
2014 Marie Bouzkova/CZE def. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR
2015 Dalma Galfi/HUN def. Sonya Kenin/USA
2016 Kayla Day/USA def. Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
2017 Amanda Anisimova/USA def. Coco Gauff/USA
2018 ??

**SERENA WILLIAMS at THE SLAMS - Rd.-by-Rd.**
68-1...1st Round ['12 RG: Razzano]
66-2...2nd Round ['98 AO: Venus; '14 RG: Muguruza]
58-8...3rd Round
49-8...4th Round
35-13...QF
30-5...SF [Venus 00, Henin 03, Clijsters 09, Vinci 15, Ka.Pliskova 16]
23-7...F [Venus 01, Sharapova 04, Venus 08, Stosur 11, Kerber 16, Muguruza 16, Kerber 18]

**CAREER U.S. OPEN MATCH WINS - Open era**
101 - Chris Evert, USA
93 - Serena Williams, USA*
89 - Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
78 - Venus Williams, USA*
73 - Steffi Graf, FRG/GER
62 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
56 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
53 - Monica Seles, YUG/SRB/USA
51 - Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
[slams]
329...Serena Williams*
306...Martina Navratilova
299...Chris Evert
278...Steffi Graf
266...Venus Williams*
210...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
198...Lindsay Davenport
194...Maria Sharapova*
180...Monica Seles
174...Conchita Martinez

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST REGION Quarterfinalists]
1968 Maryna Godwin, RSA
1994 Amanda Coetzer, RSA
1996 Amanda Coetzer, RSA
1998 Amanda Coetzer, RSA
2007 Shahar Peer, ISR
[AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST REGION Rd. of 16]
1970 Pat Walkden, RSA (3rd Rd.)
1973 Ilana Koss, RSA (3rd Rd.)
1975 Greer Stevens, RSA (3rd Rd.)
1975 Delina Boshoff, RSA (3rd Rd.)
1977 Marise Kruger, RSA
1979 Greer Stevens, RSA
1982 Ros Fairbank, RSA
1988 Elna Reinach, RSA
1989 Ros Fairbank, RSA
1997 Joannette Kruger, RSA
1997 Amanda Coetzer, RSA
2004 Eleni Daniilidou, GRE
2006 Shahar Peer, ISR
2010 Shahar Peer, ISR

**BACKSPIN 2018 JUNIOR STAR AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Marta Kostyuk, UKR
AO: Liang En-shuo, TPE
FEB/MAR: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
MARCH: Naho Sato, JPN
1Q: MARIA CAMILA OSORIO SERRANO, COL
APR: Emiliana Arango, COL
MAY: Eleonora Molinaro, LUX
RG: Coco Gauff, USA
2Q Clay Court: ELEONORA MOLINARO, COL
JUN: Lea Ma, USA
WI: Iga Swiatek, POL
2Q Grass Court: IGA SWIATEK, POL
JUL/AUG: Clara Tauson, DEN
AUG: Wang Xinyu, CHN and Wang Xiyu, CHN
[2018 Weekly JUNIOR STAR Award Wins]
5 - Liang En-Shuo, TPE
5 - Wang Xiyu, CHN
4 - Coco Gauff, USA
4 - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
4 - Wang Xinyu, CHN
3 - Caty McNally, USA
3 - Clara Tauson, DEN
2 - Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
2 - Kaja Juvan, SLO
2 - Eleonora Molinaro, LUX
2 - Alexa Noel, USA
2 - Naho Sato, JPN
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Daniela Vismane, LAT
2 - Katie Volynets, USA
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN

**CAREER WTA TITLES vs. BEST SLAM RESULTS**
[10+ TITLES and NO SLAM QF]
Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Anna Smashnova
[13+ TITLES and NO SLAM SF]
none - [closest active: Pavlyuchenkova and Svitolina w/ 12]
[players with 13+ WTA titles (39), by best slam; *-active]
W (31): Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Serena Williams (72)*, Evonne Goolagong (68), Billie Jean King (67), Virginia Wade (55), Monica Seles (53), Venus Williams (49)*, Justine Henin (43), Kim Clijsters (41), Maria Sharapova (36)*, Conchita Martinez (33), Tracy Austin (30), Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (29), Caroline Wozniacki (29)*, Hana Mandlikova (27), Gabriela Sabatini (27), Petra Kvitova (25)*, Amelie Mauresmo (25), Jana Novotna (24), Victoria Azarenka (20)*, Nancy Richey (19), Simona Halep (18)*, Svetlana Kuznetsova (18)*, Kerry Melville Reid (17), Mary Pierce (17), Ann Haydon Jones (16), Ana Ivanovic (15), Jennifer Capriati (14)
F (7): Pam Shriver (21), Aga Radwanska (20)*, Manuela Maleeva (19), Elena Dementieva (16), Jelena Jankovic (15)*, Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (15), Zina Garrison (14)
SF (1): Nadia Petrova (13)
[players with 12 WTA titles (11), with best slam]
Julie Halard-Decugis (QF)
Anke Huber (SF)
Angelique Kerber (W)*
Helga Niessen Masthoff (F)
Katerina Maleeva (QF)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (QF)*
Virginia Ruzici (W)
Dinara Safina (F)
Anna Smashnova (4th Rd.)
Elina Svitolina (QF)*
Vera Zvonareva (F)*




TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("??"): Nominees: Louis Armstrong Stadium ("Upset Court" - four of top 5 women's seeds fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court), Sabalenka, Vondrousova, Osaka, Barty
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 4th Rd.: Keys, Stephens(W), S.Williams(W)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: S.Williams, Sharapova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Sevastova, Sharapova
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, Sabalenka
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
↧

US.8 - Boom-shaka-Osaka

September 3, 2018, 7:47 pm
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The all-20 year old, U.S. Open Round of 16 match-up between #26 Aryna Sabalenka and #20 Naomi Osaka wasn't just a first-time meeting between a pair of Generation PDQ "Bash Sisters," it was a look into something of the soul of the future of women's tennis. Not all of it, mind you, but a large subsection where power rules, the potential for it to intimidate excites, and individual stardom awaits for those who can corral it all and rise above.

Alona Ostapenko was the first of the new generation of players to break through at a major and become a maiden slam champ, and the smart money at this point is that one of these two very well could be the next. But after today only one would survive to reach their first career slam quarterfinal.



Over the course of the summer in North America, Sabalenka has stirred imaginations, admiration (and sometimes awe) with her booming shots, clenched fists and warrior air on court as she's defiled a series of Top 10 players over the course of the U.S. Open hard court series.



But while "Belarusian Boom" sometimes looks like a superhero-in-training, the story surrounding Osaka, just as big a hitter (if not an even bigger one than the Belarusian), runs deeper. Not because of anything to do with their similar games, or that her tennis upbringing was in large part patterned after that of the Williams Sisters (especially her idol Serena), but because of what she represents by just, well, by just being.

Half-Japanese and also half-Haitian, born in Osaka but raised in the U.S., Naomi's life as a mixed-race person in Japan (known as a hafu, from "half" in English) was a big point of interest in her recent New York Times profile, which raised the issue of what she represents while representing so many things. Stated Brook Larmer in the piece, "(She) symbolizes something as large as the world’s multicultural future. In playing under the flag of an island nation noted for its racial homogeneity, Osaka challenges assumptions about whether and under what circumstances a biracial person might be accepted as truly Japanese" within the borders of a country obsessed with "racial purity."

🙌

A post shared by Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ (@naomiosakatennis) on



There was never going to be a great deal of variety in the match-up itself. Mostly, it was about power. But raw, sometimes stunning power from two players whose task it usually is to corral their strengths and use them for good. Osaka was much more adept at it early in the season, when she was thrust into the spotlight after winning Indian Wells in March, than she has been since having to navigate the balance of the season while also adapting to her newly burgeoning stardom. She recently admitted on social media that she'd had a few difficult months, but that she believed that the "fun" aspect had returned to her game as she was set to arrive in New York.



Sabalenka played more matches on summer hard courts than anyone, seemingly getting better with every outing (and every Top 10 win), and ultimately claimed her maiden tour singles title in New Haven the weekend before the start of play at Flushing Meadows.

Both had ripped their way through the first three rounds in New York. Sabalenka went three sets in the 1st Round vs. Danielle Collins, just days after the Connecticut Open wrapped up, but hadn't lost a set since. She out-hit #5-seed Petra Kvitova in the 3rd Round to reach her first slam Round of 16. Osaka dropped just seven total games in three rounds, double-bageling Sabalenka's countrywoman Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her most recent match.

Sabalenka had the first BP opportunity in Monday's Labor Day match, when she led 2-1 in the 1st set. After failing to convert, in game #5, she went down love/30, then missed an open court forehand just long to fall down triple BP. It would be one of the many holes she'd be forced to climb from on serve on the day. The Belarusian brought out her big serve and nearly got back to deuce, but a DF ultimately handed the first break to Osaka. Looking to consolidate the break, Osaka fired back-to-back aces to lead 30/15, then held with a big (117 mph at Sabalenka's body) service winner two points later for 4-2. Down 15/30 a game later, Sabalenka's ace got her to 30/30 and she took the final three points of the game. Osaka didn't blink, though, holding with an ace (one of two in game #8) for 5-3.

Speaking of blinking... the set would soon be over in the blink of an eye. Patrolling the back court with good defense, Osaka moved into the court to end a rally and take a love/30 lead as Sabalenka served to stay in the set. A forehand crosscourt winner gave her triple SP, and then Sabalenka's backhand error (her 14th UE in the 1st ) ended it, with Osaka winning the set at 6-3.

Osaka opened with a love service game in the 2nd, while Sabalenka handily held, as well. A tight game #3 went to multiple deuce points, but Sabalenka could never quite get an opportunity to seize control of the action with her return game until she finally fired a forehand return into the corner and then followed the shot into the net for a put-away that earned her a BP. But a forehand error allowed the opportunity to slip away, and then Osaka fired an ace. Sabalenka's swing volley backhand winner saved GP, but an error from Osaka gave her another BP chance.

A long, high quality rally (probably the best of the match) ended with Osaka's backhand traveling beyond the baseline, meaning Sabalenka had finally wrestled away an advantage to lead 2-1. Her big serve, then volley net cord and follow-up volley winner gave her a 30/love lead in game #4. She held at 15 with another aggressive move on GP, won with a volley winner. Sabalenka's slice to one corner, then forehand winner into the other opened game #5 with a flash of the sort of play that boosted her summer run. A loose backhand error from Osaka then gave Sabalenka another BP chance, and she was soon up a double-break at 4-1 while maintaining her more "error-lite" style in the 2nd.

At 5-1, up love/30 on Osaka's serve, the Belarusian reached double SP at 15/40 with a long Osaka backhand. Osaka saved one with a laser forehand into the corner, followed by Sabalenka sailing a return of an on-the-line serve. Osaka got the hold for 5-2 after several GP chances, forcing Sabalenka to serve out the set. At 30/30, Osaka's long return gave the Belarusian her third SP, on which she left no doubt with a set-ending ace... and an arm-pumping scream before stalking to the changeover area with a 6-2 set in her column.

After the ten-minute between-set break, Osaka held at 15 to open the 3rd, looking fresh again after seeing her game take step back in the 2nd. The Japanese player being able to stave off a BP in her last 2nd set serve game now allowed her to open the deciding set on serve, preventing her from having to face the constant pressure of serving from behind. Instead, it would be Sabalenka's lot in the 3rd.

Sabalenka followed suit on her own service hold at 15 with a down-the-line forehand that painted the side line. In game #3, Osaka found herself in a love/30 hole, causing her frustration to leak out just a bit as she tapped rather forcefully (but never fully slammed) her racket on the court. A netted forehand put her down double BP, then Sabalenka charged the net behind her return and put away a breaking volley to go up 2-1. But rather than Sabalenka taking the wind-in-her-sails moment and carrying it to the finish, it was Osaka who lifted her level in the final games, better controlling her power (and UE) and playing with the sort of consistency that was always going to be necessary for *one* of these two if they were going to have any sort of real say in the outcome of the match.

She got the break back a game later, then followed with a strong hold, ending it with an ace to lead 3-2. A missed backhand down the line put Sabalenka down love/30, then a DF gave Osaka triple BP. But Sabalenka, as she has so often this summer in a series of three-setters, often coming back from MP down to win, managed a final push with her back against the wall. She pulled herself out of the hole with big serves and aggressive play, holding for 3-3 with a game-ending forehand winner. A Sabalenka error on a short ball off an Osaka return put her down love/30 two games later, but she held again for 4-4.

But remember, Sabalenka was the one who was tasked with holding to keep contact in the set, and the pressure to continually do so proved to be too great, and the Great Wave of Osaka too strong to hold back. Feeling the moment and recognizing her time to shine, Osaka held at love, punctuating the game with an ace for a 5-4 lead. Again serving to get even, this time to stay in the match, the Belarusian again fell behind. But this time she couldn't battle her way back. A backhand bounced off the net cord and landed out, leaving her love/30 down. A DF gave Osaka triple MP.

In one final flourish, Sabalenka got the game back to deuce, saving three MP with a wide second serve and forehand winner combo, an Osaka return error and a service winner up the middle. On GP, Osaka fired a big return at Sabalenka's feet and the game continued, with MP #4 soon coming after another large return. This time, rather than pull herself back up, Sabalenka served herself out of the U.S. Open with another DF, giving Osaka a 6-2/2-6/6-4 win and her maiden slam quarterfinal result.




While the Belarusian tossed her racket in anger, an emotional Osaka, the first Japanese woman to reach the QF of a major since 2004 (Shinobu Asagoe/U.S. Open) fought back tears. Still, in her post match interview, she was able to activate her usual personal style, featuring a dose of honesty as well as a touch of oddball (in a good, winning -- literally and figuratively -- way) charm.



Thus, Sabalenaka's summertime story ends in the Round of 16 in her first U.S. Open main draw, leaving fellow Generation PDQ member Osaka with a chance for another round of glory... and, after that, who knows what might come next.

Boom-shaka-Osaka.



=DAY 8 NOTES=
...in the first-up women's Round of 16 match on Ashe, '17 runner-up Madison Keys out-hit and dominated #29 Dominika Cibulkova, winning 6-1/6-3 to reach her second career U.S. Open quarterfinal, and fourth in the last five majors.



In the second game of the opening set, #14 Keys got the break in an 8-deuce game, and then never looked back. After an early break disadvantage in the 2nd, Cibulkova got things back on serve, but seemed tired down the stretch (she'd played three straight three-setters in the first week, including one of the longest U.S. Open women's matches ever, a 3:19 2nd Round win over Hsieh Su-wei), dropping the final four games. Keys had 25 winners to Cibulkova's 7, lost just four points on her first serve, as well as 65% of her second serves. She converted 5 of 12 BP chances on Cibulkova's serve, while facing just one on her own. Cibulkova won just 46% of her total service points.

...in the final women's Round of 16 match to wrap in the daytime hours, the unseeded pair of Lesia Tsurenko and Marketa Vondrousova had as much (or more) trouble with the oppressive afternoon conditions on the Grandstand Court as they did with each other. Tsurenko, particularly, seemed on the verge of retirement. She'd led the 1st set 3-0, and 4-1, but saw it slip away. She was treated by a physio after the ninth game. Doubling over, and barely able to stand, it didn't seem possible that she'd finish the match. She could barely swing her racket as she tried to return serve as her 19-year old Czech opponent served out a 7-3 tie-break to win the 1st set. It was Vondrousova's third TB win in her last two matches.

But the 29-year old veteran, seeking just as Vondrousova was her maiden slam QF spot (in slam #29, though, rather than #7), battled on. By the time the 2nd set ended with Tsurenko serving it out at 7-5 to send things to a 3rd, the Czech was seen grabbing her calf and thigh, likely trying to hold back an attack of cramps. With the guts she utilized to defend her Acapulco crown in March ("Sombrerenko!") -- she was three points from a straight sets defeat vs. Stefanie Voegele in this year's final -- Tsurenko was the stronger player down the stretch.

She ultimately served out a 6-7(3)/7-5/6-2 win, saving a BP in the final game and winning on her third MP when Vondrousova netted a forehand return, ending the over two and half hour contest. The battle of attrition in the heat was evident in the final stats, as the two combined for 132 unforced errors (MV 75, LT 57) and 29 BP (LT 8/15, MV 5/14). Tsurenko is the sixth unseeded slam quarterfinalist in 2018.




...in the night match on Ashe, the U.S. Open demise of #22 Maria Sharapova that one could somewhat see coming through the first three rounds, when supporters (and maybe the Russian herself) were forced to latch onto small spurts of competence and past results when trying to put a positive spin on her staying power at this slam, finally happened.

Facing off with #30 Carla Suarez-Navarro, on the Spaniard's 30th birthday, Sharapova's good moments were witnessed even fewer and farther between during tonight's match than they often were in her first three wins last week. Never able to get her service game straight (from the toss on down), Sharapova had difficult just holding serve. Five games into the 1st set, she'd already been broken twice. CSN got a bit tense while trying to close out the set, failing to serve it out at 5-2 and seeing Sharapova take a love/30 lead at 5-4. But the Russian's back-to-back-to-back-to-back unforced errors squandered her small opening for success. Suarez-Navarro claimed the 6-4 set, and proceeded to maintain her roll in the 2nd.



Sharapova, serving to stay in the match down 5-3 with hope that the Spaniard would get nervous again, failed to convert two GP chances, losing one on a DF. It all ended on CSN's first MP when Sharapova couldn't go to her left quickly enough to get back her fellow thirtysomething's sweeping backhand shot sent deep and wide into the backcourt. The 6-4/6-3 win sends CSN into the final eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2013, and ends Sharapova's long undefeated (22-0) stretch under the lights on Ashe. Sharpaova won just 48% of her first serves, 39% of her second, and had eight DF.



...in doubles, #7 Mertens/Schuurs (def. Hsieh/Sabalenka) advanced to the quarterfinals along with #13 Barty/Vandeweghe (def. #3 Hlavackova/Strycova), #6 Hradecka/Makarova and the Anastasia/Anastasija combo of Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova. Sevastova is the only player still alive in both singles and doubles.

In mixed, Wimbledon champ Nicole Melichar (w/ Alexandra Peya) & Oliver Marach (the #2 seeds) fell to Zhang Shuai & John Peers in an 11-9 3rd set TB. With AO winner Gaby Dabrowski and RG champ Latisha Chan already out, we're assured of four different women winning MX slam titles in 2018.

...in juniors, some top seeded Bannerettes (#2 Alexa Noel, #5 Caty McNally) were forced to go three sets to advance, while #7 Eleonora Molinaro (LUX) lost to Himari Sato of Japan, and #12 Joanna Garland (TPE) fell at the hands of Eli Mandlik of the U.S. (who's also the daughter of '85 U.S. Open women's champ Hana Mandlikova).

Daria Snigur (UKR) upset #15 Katie Volynets (USA), Papua New Guinea's Violet Apisah defeated Bannerette Gabriella Price, Emma Jackson (USA) knocked off Ukraine's Viktoriia Dema, and Hordette Oksana Selekhmeteva advanced past #13 Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy.




NEWS ON DAY 8: Donna. Has. Left. The. City.

(Also... the pants!)

Until next year NYC ???????????????????????

A post shared by Donna Vekic (@donnavekic) on



YEAH, I'M *NOT* LIKING THIS, AFTER ALL (I figured I wouldn't) ON DAY 8: Nothing like making Hall of Fame-worthy individuals seem "less worthy" in the eyes of many people who likely never saw them play by pitting them against each other -- and reporting the ongoing results -- in a "fan poll." Not the way to go, IMO.



SEEN ON DAY 8: During the Sabalenka/Osaka match, a fan wearing a Joe Namath #12 jersey in the stands. Hey, it *is* New York, I guess.

JUST A REMINDER ON DAY 8: Sania Mirza is still very pregnant.



LIKE ON DAY 8: When you just did it, barely, but realize that now you have to come back out and do it *again*. And you internally accept the coming challenge, no matter how it ultimately turns out.




...and, finally...

The Nanci Griffith soundtrack of my car while driving back from a college night class. Her "Late Night Grande Hotel" album just played really well as the only sound in the middle of the night, allowing one to think *and* listen... well, not counting the time I split the uprights between two out-of-nowhere deer on a winding road in pitch blackness, with only a few hairs stuck around the edges of my headlight as evidence that the moment ever really happened at all.

["It's Just Another Morning Here"]


["Late Night Grande Hotel"]


["The Power Lines"]




=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF QF=
#17 Serena Williams/USA vs. #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#3 Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #14 Madison Keys/USA
#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) vs. Jakupovic/Khromacheva (SLO/RUS)
Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) vs. Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN)
#6 Hradecka/Makarova vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
(WC) McHale/C.Harrison (USA/USA) vs. #5 S.-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA)
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) def. N.Kichenok/Koolhof (UKR/NED)
Olaru/Skugor (ROU/CRO) vs. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO)
Sh.Zhang/Peers (CHN/AUS) def. #2 Melichar/Marach (USA/AUT)





Trust the process

A post shared by Elina Svitolina???? (@elisvitolina) on






*2018 U.S. OPEN FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
49 - Serena Williams
7 - Carla Suarez-Navaro
6 - Madison Keys
6 - Karolina Pliskova
5 - Sloane Stephens
3 - Anastasija Sevastova
1 - Naomi Osaka
1 - Lesia Tsurenko
[by career US QF]
15 - Serena Williams
3 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Anastasija Sevastova
2 - Madison Keys
2 - Sloane Stephens
2 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
1 - Naomi Osaka
1 - Lesia Tsurenko
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - Serena Williams
[w/ consecutive US QF]
3 - Karolina Pliskova
2 - Madison Keys
2 - Anastasija Sevastova
2 - Sloane Stephens
-
NOTE: Serena Williams 10 non-consecutive in a row (since 2007; DNP 2010/2017)
[2018 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Elise Mertens, BEL
AO - Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
RG - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
WI - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
WI - Camila Giorgi, ITA
US - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
[2018 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Elise Mertens, BEL
RG - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
WI - Camila Giorgi, ITA
WI - Julia Goerges, GER
US - Naomi Osaka, JPN
US - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
[2018 slam QF]
3 - Angelique Kerber (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Madison Keys (AO/RG/US)
2 - Simona Halep (AO/RG)
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (RG/WI)
2 - Karolina Pliskova (AO/US)
2 - Sloane Stephens (RG/US)
2 - Carla Suarez-Navarro (AO/US)
2 - Serena Williams (WI/US)
1 - Kiki Bertens (WI)
1 - Dominika Cibulkova (WI)
1 - Camila Giorgi (WI)
1 - Julia Goerges (WI)
1 - Elise Mertens (AO)
1 - Garbine Muguruza (RG)
1 - Naomi Osaka (US)
1 - Alona Ostapenko (WI)
1 - Yulia Putinteva (RG)
1 - Maria Sharapova (RG)
1 - Anastasija Sevastova (US)
1 - Elina Svitolina (AO)
1 - Lesia Tsurenko (US)
1 - Caroline Wozniacki (AO)
[2018 slam QF - by nation]
7...USA (1/2/1/3) - Keys(3),Stephens(2),S.Williams(2)
4...GER (1/1/2/0) - Goerges,Kerber(3)
3...ESP (1/1/0/1) - Muguruza,Suarez-Navarro(2)
3...RUS (0/2/1/0) - Kasatkina(2),Sharapova
2...CZE (1/0/0/1) - Ka.Pliskova(2)
2...LAT (0/0/1/1) - Ostapenko,Sevastova
2...ROU (1/1/0/0) - Halep(2)
2...UKR (1/0/0/1) - Svitolina,Tsurenko
1...BEL (1/0/0/0) - Mertens
1...DEN (1/0/0/0) - Wozniacki
1...ITA (0/0/1/0) - Giorgi
1...JPN (0/0/0/1) - Osaka
1...KAZ (0/1/0/0) - Putintseva
1...NED (0/0/1/0) - Bertens
1...SVK (0/0/1/0) - Cibulkova
[WTA career slam QF - active]
49...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
25...Maria Sharapova, RUS
16...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
12...Aga Radwanska, POL
11...Simona Halep, ROU
10...Petra Kvitova, CZE
10...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
9...Angelique Kerber, GER
8...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
8...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Francesca Schiavone, ITA
7...Patty Schnyder, SUI
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Madison Keys, USA
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
5...Sabine Lisicki, GER
5...Sloane Stephens, USA
[WTA slam QF in 2010's - active]
21...Serena Williams, USA
14...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
12...Maria Sharapova, RUS
11...Simona Halep, ROU
10..Angelique Kerber, GER
10...Petra Kvitova, CZE
9...Aga Radwanska, POL
9...Venus Williams, USA
9...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
7...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
6...Madison Keys, USA
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
6...Samantha Stosur, AUS
6...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
5...Kaia Kanepi, EST
5...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
5...Sloane Stephens, USA

**U.S. OPEN "IT" WINNERS**
2005 Sania Mirza, IND
2006 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2007 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
2008 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA [Jr.]
2009 Melanie Oudin, USA
2010 Beatrice Capra, USA
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED [Wheelchair]
2012 [Brit] Laura Robson, GBR
2013 [Bannerette] Vicky Duval, USA
2014 [Girl] CiCi Bellis, USA
2015 [Kiki] Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2016 [Teen] Ana Konjuh, CRO
2017 [Jr. Wild Card] Coco Gauff, USA
2018 [Court] (new) Louis Armstrong Stadium
[2018]
AO: [Teen] Marta Kostyuk, UKR
RG: [NextGen Russian] Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
WI: [GenPDQ Pole] Iga Swiatek, POL
US: [Court] (new) Louis Armstrong Stadium

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[SOUTH AMERICAN Champions]
1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
[SOUTH AMERICAN Finalists]
1988 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
[SOUTH AMERICAN Semifinalists]
1968 Maria Bueno, BRA
1989 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1994 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1995 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
[SOUTH AMERICAN Quarterfinalists]
1980 Ivanna Madruga, ARG
1983 Ivanna Madruga, ARG
1987 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1991 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1992 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1993 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
2003 Paola Suarez, ARG
[SOUTH AMERICAN Rd. of 16]
1972 Fiorella Bonicelli, URU (3rd Rd.)
1973 Maria-Isabel Fernandez-de Soto, COL (3rd Rd.)
1983 Pilar Vazquez, PER
1986 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1992 Florencia Labat, ARG
1993 Maria Jose Gaidano, ARG (LL)
1997 Florencia Labat, ARG
2005 Maria Vento-Kabchi, VEN
2009 Gisela Dulko, ARG

**BACKSPIN 2018 DOUBLES AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Demi Schuurs, NED
AO: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
FEB/MAR: Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
MARCH: Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
1Q: GABY DABROWSKI, CAN
APR: Raquel Atawo/Anna-Lena Groenefeld, USA/GER
MAY: Demi Schuurs, NED
RG: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2Q Clay Court: DEMI SCHUURS, NED
JUN: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
WI: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2Q Grass Court: BARBORA KREJCIKOVA/KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE
JUL/AUG: Jiang Xinyu/Tang Qianhui, CHN/CHN
AUG: Ash Barty/Demi Schuurs, AUS/NED
[2018 Weekly DOUBLES Award Wins]
2 - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2 - Ash Barty/Demi Schuurs, AUS/NED
2 - Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, CAN/CHN
2 - Barbora Krejickova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2 - Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2 - Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke, USA/CZE
2 - Demi Schuurs, NED

**U.S. OPEN UNSEEDED QF**
[since 32-seed draw in 2001]
2001 Daja Bedanova, CZE
2002 Elena Bovina, RUS
2004 Shinobu Asagoe, JPN
2007 Agnes Szavay, HUN
2009 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (WC) - won title
2009 Melanie Oudin, USA
2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEK
2010 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
2013 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2015 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA - reached final
2016 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2016 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA - won title
2017 Kaia Kanepi, ESP (Q)
2018 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR

*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN US OPEN SF, since 2000*
Unseeded - 2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS
Unseeded - 2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
Unseeded - 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
Unseeded - 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
Unseeded - 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
Unseeded - 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA (RU)
Unseeded - 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
Unseeded - 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
Wild Card - 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W)
#28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W)
#20 - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
#19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic,SRB
#17 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
#15 - 2017 Madison Keys, USA (RU)
#12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU)
#12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA
#10 - 2001 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#10 - 2002 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
#10 - 2012 Sara Errani, ITA
#10 - 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (RU)
#10 - 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (RU)
==
[IN 2018 U.S. OPEN QF]
Unseeded - Lesia Tsurenko
#14 Madison Keys
#17 Serena Williams
#19 Anastasija Sevastova
#20 Naomi Osaka
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Osaka, Suarez-Navarro, Sevastova, Tsurenko
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF: Keys, Stephens, S.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: S.Williams
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Sevastova, Sharapova
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, Suarez-Navarro
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

↧

US.9 - The City was Made for Second Chances

September 4, 2018, 3:33 pm
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Sometimes, you get a second chance. Or, in the case of Anastasija Sevastova, even more.



The Latvian retired from the sport in 2013 due to injury and illness. When she returned a year and a half later, she began down the path that led her to this day in New York, when she became a slam semifinalist for the first time in her career.

The first came success in her comeback came on the challenger level then, in 2016, at the U.S. Open. She upset Garbine Muguruza in the 2nd Round and reached her maiden slam quarterfinal. Unfortunately, an in-match injury caused her to struggle there against Caroline Wozniacki. A year later, after seeing younger countrywoman Alona Ostapenko become a major champion at Roland Garros, Sevastova won her first tour-level singles title in seven years, then returned last summer to Flushing Meadows and defeated another slam champion and former #1, Maria Sharapova, en route to another QF. She held a break lead on Sloane Stephens in the 3rd set, leading 3-1, before ultimately going out in a deciding tie-break. She then watched Stephens win the title two rounds later. While Sevastova hasn't gone on some sort of Sabalenkian siege of various European or North American cities over the past year, she's maintained her Top 20 position on tour and won another title, all the while knowing she had the U.S. Open "in her back pocket."

Well, wouldn't you know it, the 28-year old has once again found her best stride in the city. After blitzing #7 Elina Svitolina in the Round of 16, Sevastova found herself in a familar position. In a U.S. Open QF for a third straight year, with Stephens on the opposite side of the net for the second consecutive year.

With a second chance... or maybe a third?... or was it really a little more than that? Either way, Sevastova got her way today. Finally.

Playing in the most intense heat conditions in New York since the debilitating days at the start of the first week, Sevastova and Stephens were set to battle it out on Ashe Stadium, with the winner getting the spoils... or at least a shot to reach a slam final in a SF clash with either Serena Williams or Karolina Pliskova. Not an easy task, either way, but still a moment to shine on a stage where both have been at their very best in the past.

Thing is, the battle never really happened.

Oh, Sevastova won the most contested game of the match, the third in the 1st set. In an eleven-minute service game, played by the Latvian on the sunny side of Ashe court, Sevastova saved four break points as Stephens consistently failed in her return efforts. She finally held on her third game point opportunity to take a 2-1 lead. It didn't long before Stephens dropped serve in the aftermath, with a forehand error putting her down 15/40, then a low volley error giving Sevastova the break for 3-1.

Sevastova staved off two more BP in game #5, saving one by employing a shot that she'd use all day long to great success -- a drop shot. Stephens got to the shot, but then couldn't handle her follow-up high backhand volley attempt. Sevastova held for 4-1, then for 5-2 with another drop shot, once again retrieved but not put away by Sloane, then followed by the Latvian flicking the ball into the open court past a chasing Stephens. Armed with a variety of drops, spins and the like, Sevastova continued to stretch Stephens physically by making her hit shots that she didn't want to (and doing so over and over again, often until she made a game-ending mistake), breaking her serve to take the set 6-2, converting her second of two BP chances. Meanwhile, Stephens was 0-for-7 on BP in the 1st.



While Stephens seemed to be unable to handle the heat, Sevastova played a contained game in the conditions. She was hot, but not significantly slowed by the weather. She grabbed a 2-0 lead. Stephens tried in vain to turn the tide, roaring (trying to channel Serena?) loudly after getting a break in game #3. But while coach Kamau Murray tried to encourage his charge from the stands (and, really, pretty clearly give her coaching tips, though Stephens was never admonished for it), it was clear that Stephens would likely need a collapse from the oft-emotional Sevastova to get back into the match. Sevastova did play a few nervous games as the semifinals were in sight, giving back a break of serve for 4-3 after having re-taken the lead with a break of her own a game earlier.

It briefly appeared as if Stephens might yet have a chance. Up 30/love in game #8, she held three GP, only to commit errors on all three to stop cold any legit comeback talk. Finally, Sevastova pulled out another drop shot to reach her second BP of the game, then got the break for 5-3 with a slice drop shot so perfect that even she had to laugh at the audacity of it after she'd won the game. Serving for the semifinals, the Latvian went up 40/love. It took her all three MP opportunities to finally seal the win, but it came via a Stephens backhand error to make the final score 6-2/6-3.



Stephens, who converted only two of her nine BP chances on the day, and won just one point on her second serve, kept the end of her U.S. Open title defense in perspective. She should expect to be back in contention for still more slams in the future as, today notwithstanding, for the most part she's proven herself to be a reliable force to reckon with on the sport's biggest stages since her title run at Flushing Meadows last summer, winning in Miami and reaching the RG final.



Twenty-three slams into a "second" career that included a four-year stretch during which Sevastova didn't appear in ANY slam main draws, the Latvian has never climbed this high before and, even with her three-years running prowess at Flushing Meadows in hand, may never see things from such a height again. In the semifinals, she'll face a former #1 with more experience than she has in such a moment.

Sevastova has already overcome a lot. Her road may end soon. But just getting there has been an embraceable journey that is yet *another* fascinating story embedded within The Most Interesting Tour in the World.



=DAY 9 NOTES=
...as admirable as Sevastova's journey to her first slam semi has been, one might have had a hard time discerning as such during ESPN's coverage of the match, which lurched between being simply partisan to overly Stephens-centric, and finally, outright embarrassing.

As an addition to the comment I made about ESPN commentators and U.S. players vs. anyone else who might get coaching from the players box during a match, today Mary Joe Fernandez casually noted that Kamau Murray, who has consistently given shouted signals at this Open, was giving Sloane Stephens instructions "to get the ball up" (which she did on the next point) in the 2nd set. Pam Shriver made no negative peep about it, after *always* making sure throughout the event to point out whenever a non-U.S. player's coach might make a hand signal that she deemed "illegal," not to mention constantly announcing the shock clock progression early on last week. She's at least curbed that, though yesterday she made a point to note that the shot clock was a :12 -- TWELVE seconds! -- at one point. Pammy logic.

Also, it might have been good to actually say something good before, you know, the match was OVER about how well Sevastova's drop shot-heavy game plan was working (as a tactic, not just how Sloane wasn't putting them away when she got to them), how well she was playing and that *she* wasn't being taken down by the heat. Especially since she'd nearly beaten Sloane LAST year in the QF -- so we know she was *capable* of beating her in NYC -- and that while the result was an upset, it wasn't Millman-over-Federer II like Shriver was trying to push. Actually, it's been nice in, on occasion, it'd been acknowledged that Stephens was actually playing a living, breathing OPPONENT, something which was hard to gauge most of the time. Apparently, the only thing that mattered was that Sloane either, 1) had a cold today, 2) had issues with her legs, 3) was tired from her long match in the heat SIX days ago vs. Anhelina Kalinina, or 4) that the intense heat conditions were so tough today that no one could rightfully manage them (though Sevastova was playing in them, too, and her only hiccup was a brief lapse when she had an early lead in the 2nd set).

Okay, then.

I can't imagine the conniption fit about unfairness they'd have had if it was Stephens serving in the second game of the match rather than Sevastova when a replay challenge overrule on a converted game point caused the game to continue, even while the ushers were still allowing people into the stadium to go to their seats because they thought the match was between games.

Fact is, Shriver and MJF have *always* brought out the worst in each other as commentators, especially when doing matches featuring players with whom they have a connection, going all the way back to listening to them doing Jelena Dokic matches vs. say, Lindsay Davenport. I called them the "Bobbsey Twins" then. Over the years, they've often (thankfully) been separated in the booth by ESPN, which was a good thing. But not today.

It was embarrassing.

At least Rennae Stubbs managed a few "commercial breaks" from the seeming Sloane Channel coverage of the match.

Commentators shouldn't make you prefer a player of Stephens' quality to lose on the day just to spite them, but it was hard to avoid that today.

...Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova will meet tonight in Tuesday's other quarterfinal. Whether it'll warrant a "U.S. Open at Night" post remains to be seen.



...in doubles, #2 Babos/Mladenovic edged closer to a possible face-off with #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova in an all-2018 WD slam champions final, winning today in the quarterfinals over #6 Hradecka/Makarova.



Babos/Mladenovic won the AO title this season, while the Czechs swept RG and SW19. They didn't meet en route to any of their slam wins.

Krejcikova/Siniakova are still to face #7 Mertens/Schuurs in the QF, with a SF match-up with #13 Barty/Vandeweghe awaiting. Babos/Mladenovic will face the winners of Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova vs. Stosur/Sh.Zhang.

...before the heat caused a suspension of play for the juniors this afternoon, a few matches got in under the wire.

Top-seeded Coco Gauff (USA) advanced to the 2nd Round with a win over Romania's Selma Cadar, #3 Wang Xiyu (CHN) defeated Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS), and Bannerette Lea Ma (#16) defeated conquered Slovak Lenka Stara, on a break from shooting a "Game of Thrones" scene in Central Park. Also with a win was #4-seeded Colombian Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.




YOU KNOW... ON DAY 9: This guy was so funny to watch the last few sets last night... it *almost* made it worth it.



LIKE ON DAY 9:



BABY SLAM CHAMP MEMORIES ON DAY 9:



LIKE ON DAY 9:



Noticed that at the time, too. Subtle, and nice.

HONESTLY... ON DAY 9:



That was such a blatantly "duh" type of question that I literally predicted her answer out loud before Sevastova said it. I mean, there might be only two or three players -- if that many -- *on tour* who wouldn't give the same answer.
Tomorrow, Chris will go to the Bronx Zoo and ask an anteater what its favorite snack is.

QUESTION ON DAY 9: We have "break points" in a game for a returner, and "game points" for the server. But, thing is, "break points" are ALSO "game points," just for a different player. Why don't we call GP's "hold points?"

Questions for life.

LIKE ON DAY 9: With a certain result tonight, otherwise known as "Serena at the Open"...




...and, finally...

U2 began recording "Achtung Baby" in Berlin in late 1990. The album was meant to foster a change in the group's musical direction, being both more introspective and self-deprecating that their earlier, more earnest, work. None of the band members knew if it would be a successful endeavor.

Needless to day, it wasn't a productive process at first, either. The band's recording sessions were filled with conflict and arguments, nearly causing the group, together since 1976, to break up. But by the time U2 began to record again the next year in Dublin they had the makings of their masterpiece. What resulted was a rare album on which *every* song is good, bordering on great. "Achtung Baby" won multiple Grammys, was the basis of U2's amazing "Zoo TV" tour, and even spawned another follow-up album ("Zooropa") which was inspired by the "sensory overload" aspect of the tour.

Considered by many to be one of greatest albums ever recorded, it reinvigorated the band, which is still one of the most successful in the world forty-two years after it was originally formed when the members were teenagers in Ireland. Bono called the album a "pivot point" in the group's career, saying, "Making Achtung Baby is the reason we're still here now."

It yielded so many great songs it's hard to pick just a few out. Personally, though, my all-time favorite U2 song is...

["One"]


Also great on "AB" were...

["Mysterious Ways"]


["Even Better Than the Real Thing"]




=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF QF=
#17 Serena Williams/USA vs. #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. #3 Sloane Stephens/USA
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #14 Madison Keys/USA
#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) def. Jakupovic/Khromacheva (SLO/RUS)
Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) vs. Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN)
#2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #6 Hradecka/Makarova

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
(WC) McHale/C.Harrison (USA/USA) def. #5 S.-Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA)
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) def. N.Kichenok/Koolhof (UKR/NED)
Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO) def. Olaru/Skugor (ROU/CRO)
Sh.Zhang/Peers (CHN/AUS) def. #2 Melichar/Marach (USA/AUT)









You can kiss my hass... see what I did there? 👄🥑 🤣 #ad

A post shared by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on





**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
RG: -
WI: Julia Goerges/GER
US: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT (+Osaka/Tsurenko winner)

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[ROU Champions]
-
[ROU Finalists]
-
[ROU Semifinalists]
1997 Irina Spirlea
2015 Simona Halep
[ROU Quarterfinalists]
1976 Virginia Ruzici
1978 Virginia Ruzici
2016 Simona Halep
[ROU Rd. of 16]
1977 Virginia Ruzici
1980 Virginia Ruzici
1980 Lucia Romanov
1982 Virginia Ruzici
1998 Irina Spirlea

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[ITA Champions]
2015 Flavia Pennetta
[ITA Finalists]
2015 Roberta Vinci
[ITA Semifinalists]
2012 Sara Errani
2013 Flavia Pennetta
[ITA Quarterfinalists]
2003 Francesca Schiavone
2008 Flavia Pennetta
2009 Flavia Pennetta
2010 Francesca Schiavone
2011 Flavia Pennetta
2012 Roberta Vinci
2013 Roberta Vinci
2014 Flavia Pennetta
2014 Sara Errani
2016 Roberta Vinci
[ITA Rd. of 16]
1986 Raffaella Reggi
1990 Linda Ferrando
1996 Rita Grande
2002 Silvia Farina Elia
2002 Francesca Schiavone
2004 Francesca Schiavone
2009 Francesca Schiavone
2011 Francesca Schiavone
2013 Camila Giorgi

**BACKSPIN 2018 DOWN AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
AO: Sloane Stephens, USA
FEB/MAR: Latisha Chan/Andrea S.-Hlavackova, TPE/CZE
MARCH: Johanna Konta, GBR
1Q: JOHANNA KONTA, GBR
APR: Maria Sharapova, RUS
MAY: Latisha Chan, TPE
RG: Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2Q Clay Court: ALONA OSTAPENKO, LAT
JUN: Karolina Pliskova, CZE
WI: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2Q Grass Court: JOHANNA KONTA, GBR
JUL/AUG: Madison Keys, USA
AUG: Karolina Pliskova, CZE
[2018 Weekly DOWN Award Wins]
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE
3 - Johanna Konta, GBR
3 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
3 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
3 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
3 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
2 - Latisha Chan, TPE
2 - Caroline Garcia, FRA
2 - Simona Halep, ROU
2 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
2 - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
2 - Venus Williams, USA

**LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN US OPEN SF, since 2000**
Unseeded - 2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS
Unseeded - 2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
Unseeded - 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
Unseeded - 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
Unseeded - 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
Unseeded - 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA (RU)
Unseeded - 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
Unseeded - 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
Wild Card - 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W)
#28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W)
#20 - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
#19 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
#19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic,SRB
#17 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
#15 - 2017 Madison Keys, USA (RU)
#12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU)
#12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA
#10 - 2001 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#10 - 2002 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
#10 - 2012 Sara Errani, ITA
#10 - 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (RU)
#10 - 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (RU)
==
[IN 2018 U.S. OPEN QF]
Unseeded - Lesia Tsurenko
#14 Madison Keys
#17 Serena Williams
#20 Naomi Osaka
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Osaka, Suarez-Navarro, Sevastova, Tsurenko
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF: Keys, Stephens(L), S.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: S.Williams
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Sevastova, Suarez-Navarro, Tsurenko
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, Suarez-Navarro
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 9. More later.
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US.10 - Building a More Perfect Naomi

September 5, 2018, 3:19 pm
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20-year old Naomi Osaka has been a whispered-about future force lingering in the back of the mind of many for a while now. Well, she's beginning to elbow her way to the front.



With a Serena-inspired serve and power to spare, Osaka reached the 3rd Round of the first three majors she played in her career in 2016. At the U.S. Open, she led would-be U.S. breakout star Madison Keys 5-1 in the 3rd set in their match-up at Flushing Meadows. But she wasn't ready to conquer the demons often faced by young players who rely on power and momentum (Latvian Thunder in Paris notwithstanding), losing the match to the Bannerette, who at one time had found *herself* in the same position as the Japanese teen, with so much talent but not yet with a full understanding of what to do with it. Keys' early career had been littered with blown leads lost in a hail of late-match errors.

I titled my recap of that match "Building the Perfect Madison, Pt. 21 (or so)," as Keys, three years older than Osaka, was quite clearly a work in progress though she'd already reached the Australian Open semis a season earlier, as well as the Top 10. Her performance in defeating Osaka, turning what had been *her* mid-match collapse into a day now remembered for the lead squandered by her opponent, was further proof that Keys was inching closer to something big. Since then, Keys has gone on to climb as high as #7, reached a U.S. Open final and the Roland Garros semis, and she's still alive in the draw at Flushing Meadows as we speak.

As 2018 beckoned, Osaka was looking for a way to build a more perfect Naomi. She was still something of an unformed slab of superpowered clay waiting to be formed, it was just a matter of who'd get the chance to help sculpt it. Then, fate stepped in. Caroline Wozniacki and coach Sascha Bajin parted ways. It may be that the rest will soon be history.

Osaka's late-offseason hiring of former Serena, Vika and Caro hitting partner/coach Bajin was a signficant shot fired across the bow of the Most Interesting Tour. With first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be a champion, combining Bajin's know-how with Osaka's talent was something that begged to be flagged as a possible turning point. In my preseason preview, I wrote, "Big Sascha was the intriguing, ultimate 'big fish' coaching free agent of the offseason. Ultimately, he landed in the boat of one of the most intriguingly talented prospects on tour. Powerful and with more personality than consistency at the moment, Osaka is a diamond that could prove to be HUGE if someone can find a way to polish her game to 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."

Well, so far, so good.

With Bajin in camp, the improvements in Osaka's fitness, on-court movement, consistency and confidence (likely coming into being in that exact chronological order, too) have been apparent.

In March, Osaka blazed a trail to stardom while winning Indian Wells, becoming the youngest winner of the event in a decade and the first woman from Japan to win a Premier Mandatory title. She posted wins over Maria Sharapova, Aga Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Dasha Kasatkina en route to her maiden (and, so far, still only) tour title. With her big shots, shy demeanor and winning, refreshingly honest charm (her tiny "Ommm..." response at the start of most of her post-match answers serves as an almost Pavlovian instigator of a smile for her audience, preparing them for whatever wonderfully unvarnished answer might be about to come out of her mouth) finally brought her to the attention of those who'd previously turned a blind eye and ear to the whispered notions about the Osaka-born, Florida-raised Great Wave of talent that was coming, if it could only find its way to the proper shore.

Even then she still had work to do, but she now *knew* what she was capable of.



Osaka came to this U.S. Open saying that the "fun" was back in her game after a few months of up-and-down moments since her win in the desert in the spring. She coasted, dropping just seven games in her first three matches, before winning the Bash Sister Battle for a maiden slam quarterfinal berth against Aryna Sabalenka in the Round of 16. She did it by better keeping her head in the moment and out-dueling *the* breakout star of the summer hard court season

Meanwhile, Lesia Tsurenko seemed to barely survive her Round of 16 match against Marketa Vondrousova, going three sets in the blistering heat two days ago, when on more than one occasion she seemed THIS CLOSE to retiring before rallying to reach her own maiden slam QF (only to then, unfortunately, be accused of "faking" her ailments by the Czech, who only sets even a partial "pass" because she's so young and should be soon expected to not only realize how factually wrong she was, but also how much poor sportswomanship she showed in defeat by "going there"). Naturally, the 29-year old Ukrainian since contracted a viral illness (not a surprise, I guess, after her body was so weakened), but refused to *not* play today in what was the biggest match of her career. It's a pity she didn't have much of herself left to give.

It didn't take long to see it, either.

Osaka broke for 2-0, and Tsurenko was already bending over at the waist. Osaka seemed unbothered by the occasion, and simply went about her business. She never lost a point on her first serve in the opening set, and just three points on serve overall, while winning 6-1. She broke Tsurenko from love/40 down to open the 2nd, and finished things off soon after, wining 6-1/6-1 in fifty-seven minutes to become the first Japanese woman to reach the U.S. Open semis, and the first to do so at any major since 1996 (Kimiko Date at Wimbledon, in her first of three SF at three different slams from 1994-96). She won 20 of 22 first serve points in the match, and 30 or 37 overall.

Osaka didn't outwardly celebrate much after the win, though she admitted she was "freaking out on the inside." She decided, she said, not to be so emotional since after crying at the conclusion of her previous win some people "made fun of" her.



So, there's another thing she still has to work on.

Aside from revealing she doesn't think the NYC weather is so hot, being used to Florida ("I like sweaty."), Osaka also noted that she was happy that she didn't break a racket today, and that she fought for every point, something she acknowledged that she's had a problem with in the past. "So I've matured."

And thus the process of building a more perfect Naomi reaches a big milestone, yet still continues. Just as it did with Keys two years ago.

When Keys staged her comeback vs. her in 2016, the Bannerette did it by replacing a string of flailing errors with a confident stream of winners, while Osaka's final set that day played out in precisely the opposite way. Two years later, Osaka's potential opponent in her maiden slam semi could be Keys.

In '16, I said:

"Only three years separate Keys and Osaka, buy they're an important three. What Keys has learned about herself and her tennis since she was 18 is enough to fill two Osaka heads at this point. While Keys still has more to learn to reach her potential, Osaka, while on schedule for great future success, is still a few big steps behind. But the raw materials are surely there.

It's days like this that can make a player like Keys, a Top 10er whose next logical career step involves a grand slam final and/or title, into an elite star on the WTA tour. She'll use this experience to get better, just as she has so many over the past two or three years. It could be that this is the match that she had to win to get take that "final step" at the end of this tournament. But this day can also make (or break, I suppose, depending on her psyche) Osaka something more, too. She now knows she can challenge the current "NextGen future major winner" on a big stage. She just needs to learn how to close the deal. She just needs to get a little bit better. Then, a short ways down the road, she might be looking to take the final step toward reaching her own tennis dream. Just like Keys is now.

Both may just get there, too. And if or when that happens, what happened today will still be important. This is all part of how champions are built. From the ground up. Keys is eyeing the penthouse, while Osaka is eyeing the 'up' elevator."

Ding.

When the elevator doors open up on Ashe Stadium over the next few days, Osaka alone could be the one stepping out. Maybe even on the penthouse level. Whether she faces off with Keyes in the next round, or even Serena Williams the round after that, the 20-year old can now feel that funny feeling in her stomach that often comes with the sudden movement up an elevator shaft.

Up, up, up she goes. Where she stops, nobody knows. But we may very soon.



=DAY 10 NOTES=
...speaking of Osaka's next opponent, the USTA seems intent on making Madison Keys *the* most recognizable U.S. player on the planet not named Williams. At least it seems that way considering how often she's been given night session matches on Ashe the last few seasons even while having yet to be crowned a slam champion. So that she and Carla Suarez-Navarro were given the Day 10 night slot is no shock.

Still, it would have been nice to see Osaka/Tsurenko get the spot. Not just considering the Ukrainian had been brutalized by her day placement on Monday, or that Osaka has yet to have been given the big stage night experience at this Open, even while being the reigning Indian Wells champ. But it also might have forced Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez to comment on the USTA's lack of interest in developing Osaka's talent when it had the chance to bring her in under the organization's wing. She'd lived in the U.S. since she was 3, after all, and is as close to a "pseudo-Bannerette" as you're going to find as far as a player representing another country. But, of course, I don't believe I've ever heard MJF even make *one* comment on ESPN about Kathy Rinaldi's Fed Cup captaincy of the last two years, let alone how much better constructed, cohesive and more successful *her* teams have been since MJF *finally* stopped being the U.S. Captain. So I guess one can't expect any sort of primetime mea culpas by anyone in position to have had a voice in the Osaka story, either.

Neither McEnroe nor Fernandez were involved in ESPN's coverage of Osaka's match today, though Chris Evert and Pam Shriver *did* bring up how she got "lost in the shuffle" with the USTA. Shriver did note how Rinaldi had asked Shriver to check in on a camp at which Osaka was in attendance when she was a kid. She recalled watching her blast a second serve winner while playing practice games, and telling her to "do that (her) entire career." She asked Osaka about it recently, and she remembered the moment.

In the end, considering all that goes along with Osaka being *the* women's tennis star in Japan, even with all the hurdles due to her mixed race background, and the fact that she'll likely even rise about Kei Nishikori's fame with her eventual (maybe slam-winning) success, the path she and her family eventually traveled down was the smarter one. Plus, she's still got all her U.S. ties, which could make her the rare tennis star who could be equally promoted in both Asia *and* the West.

After being formed in the springtime in California, The Great Wave of Osaka has now officially been spotted off shore in New York. Sound the alarms.


As far as tonight's last QF: Keys is 3-2 in career slam quarterfinals (she's trying to reach her third major semi in the last five slams), while CSN in 0-6 heading into the match.



...in doubles, Sam Stosur & Zhang Shuai advanced to the semis with a win over the Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova & Anastasija Sevastova. It's the Aussie's best slam WD result since the 2011 Wimbledon, and is her 14th slam WD SF+ result. Stosur has won two major doubles titles (including the U.S. Open in '05) in seven career finals, as well as going 3-0 in MX finals. And, of course, she has one U.S. Open singles crown (2011).

Still to play in the SF as of this post: #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs.

In mixed, Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Jamie Murray (the latter won the U.S. title in '17 w/ Martina Hingis) defeated McHale/C.Harrison to reach the final. It's the fourth career MX final for BMS, who has so far won two. A win here would give her three-fourths of a Career Mixed Slam (she and Lucie Safarova also have 3/4 of Career Doubles Slam, needing only SW19). They'll face Rosolska/Mektic.

...in juniors, if a third straight Bannerette ('16 Kayla Day, '17 Amanda Anisimova) is to be crowned the U.S. Open girls champ she'll have to come from the top half of the singles draw.

#2 Alex Noel was bounced 6-0/6-1 (ouch) by Brit Emma Raducanu today, and Hurricane Black lost to #14 Zheng Qinwen, meaning the bottom half of the Round of 16 is now Bannerette-less. In the top, #1 Coco Gauff, #5 Caty McNally, #16 Lea Ma and unseeded Eli Mandlik remain.

The other big seed to fall today was #6 Claura Tauson, taken out by Ukraine's Dasha Lopatetskaya, 1-6/6-2/7-5. The 15-year old, a qualifier into the girls draw, made a minor ITF stir this summer when she swept her first two pro challenger events. She still stands 11-0 in her pro career.

...the wheelchair competition begins tomorrow. Marjolein Buis is the most active social media poster on tour, so here she is in NYC...




Aniek van Koot was the star of the Open tune-up event in St.Louis, defeating both #1 Diede de Groot and #2 Yui Kamiji en route to the title. Kamiji is the defending singles champ and a two-time winner in New York, while de Groot has yet to win the Open.

If de Groot is to keep alive her shot to have an uncluttered path next season to become the first player to win all eight slam WS/WD crowns, she'll need to win her first Open singles crown this weekend. She still needs the US singles ('17 RU), AO doubles ('17-18-time RU) and RG singles ('18 RU) for her set of eight, so she could pull off the feat in Paris if all works out before Kamiji would have a chance to beat her to it. Kamiji only needs to win the singles at Wimbledon (semis '17-18) to complete her unique eight-piece hardware set.




OF NOTE FROM NIGHT 9 ON DAY 10:



The 6-4/6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova puts Serena Williams into her 36th slam semi, behind only Chris Evert (52), Martina Navratilova (44) and Steffi Graf (37) in tour history. She's now 36-13 in major quarterfinals. And she's 30-5 in semis.

LIKE ON DAY 10: Petko remembering Petko times previously forgotten...



NOTE ABOUT NIGHT 9 ON DAY 10: ...also the reaction of many to not having all the way-too-overzealous Kiki cut-ins from the players box in the next round, too.



JUST A REMINDER ON DAY 10: AnaIvo had a baby six months ago.



LIKE ON DAY 10: The CoCo/Ash celebration after winning their QF match yesterday.




LIKE ON DAY 10: Forever Martina.



HOPE ON DAY 10: That boy's qualifier Henry von der Schulenberg of Switzerland, alive in the 3rd Round, becomes a player of note. Because, you know, who doesn't want to see a "von der Schulenberg" in as many major draws as hmuanly possible?

Of course, still waiting for Tessah Andrianjafitrimo to fill the same role on the women's tour, so...

LIKE ON DAY 10:

Washington Capitals: 2018 Stanley Cup champions
Washington Valor: 2018 Arenabowl champions
Washington Mystics: 2018 WNBA champions????



Somewhat makes up for the s***-show the Nationals have been all summer, I guess.

GOODBYE ON DAY 10:




We haven't seen the last of her. She wants to coach someone to a grand slam win. Some player is going to win the lottery.




Here's a quick Backspin Time Capsule of my recap from her maiden slam win in Paris eight years ago...

"Viva Francesca!" - June 5, 2010

Kiss, kiss. Bang, bang.


At first glance, Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone presented totally different images when they met to decide the Roland Garros women's championship today. One wore black, the other white. While one's short mop top was allowed to fly haphazardly on every groundstroke, the other's long hair was neatly tied back and trapped under a hat. One dressed in a tight, business-like tennis dress, while her opponent wore a loose, almost baggy shirt-and-skirt combination. And while one's expressive face showed every wince and exultation throughout the match, the other preferred to keep her emotions "under glass" with glasses both shielding her from the sun's glare, as well as likely assisting her in her attempt to keep in check the sort of emotional responses that so often used to prevent her from truly taking flight on the court.

Still, both were in the same proverbial tennis boat on this day, trying to find a way to navigate their way around an environment neither had ever experienced -- a grand slam singles final. To be accurate, it was the first match-up of two first-time slam women's finalists to decide a major title since it happened six years ago on the very court the two walked onto this sunny Paris afternoon, Court Philippe Chatrier.

For all the late-career bests that Stosur has been congratulated on for achieving the last few days, Schiavone's path to this moment was even more unexpected. While the Aussie's talents have been admired for a few frustrating years, surely neither Schiavone herself nor anyone else thought the Italian would have a chance at grand slam immortality a mere eighteen days before her thirtieth birthday. Ready to enter the Top 10 for the first time at a time in her career when many of her peers have either moved on to another phase of their lives or are winding down their current one, with each progressive round in Paris, Schiavone had taken on even more of the look of woman playing to WIN. Rather than celebrate and settle for what was already her best-ever career slam result, Schiavone and everyone in her corner chose to emphasize what was STILL possible.

The backers in the Italian's cheering section, en masse, donned black shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Nothing is Impossible," and their presence served as a suitable backdrop for a player who has always been at her best when playing for her country in Fed Cup, with a gang of ardent supporters in the stands living and breathing with every point. It was quite the savvy bit of art direction for this only-in-the-movies moment.

But Schiavone's preparation didn't end there.

While Stosur's power point presentation had been enough to, at times, overwhelm and ultimately defeat three straight former or current world #1's -- Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic -- to become the first Aussie woman to reach a slam final in thirty years and making her the heavy favorite today, Schiavone came armed with a tactical masterpiece of a game plan. Essentially, it was a brilliant bit of "misdirection." Where most expected to see her force long rallies in the match, she would instead be more aggressive and seek to move forward. Countering her clay courter image, her serve was depended upon to be a bigger weapon on this day, and her volley potent. If all went well, it would give her a chance to dilute Stosur's power, taking away the effectiveness of the Aussie's forehand and serve which had consistently discombobulated the best players of her generation during this tournament.

Schiavone wasn't content with seeing if Stosur could hit through HER as she had her other six opponents. She had other ideas. As a certain Detroit rapper once asked, "Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted. One moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?"

This was HER shot, and she wasn't going to leave any regrets behind on the terre battue.

As it turned out, everything went according to plan.

Early on, though, Stosur maintained her previous "Saminator" pattern. She held at love in her first two service games. But as the set wore on, Schiavone grabbed more and more in-game leads. She hit high-bouncing and angled backhands that kept Stosur moving and unable to impose the power game that had carried her through the previous rounds. Forced to the net more often than she had been in other matches, Stosur's volleys proved to be less than effective, in spite of her doubles background.

After a missed volley, Stosur found herself down love/40 on her serve. Schiavone surprised her by coming to the net off one of the Australian's second serves. Two points later, Stosur double-faulted on break point #3 and fell behind 5-4. Serving for the set, Schiavone quickly fell behind love/30 after a missed drop shot and a long backhand, but she employed Stosur's bread-and-butter tactics by getting back into the game via a big serve, forehand winner and unreturnable serve to get to her first of two set points. A Stosur error would hand Schiavone the set at 6-4, an opening stanza highlighted by the Italian's surprising aggression (she was 5-for-5 on net approaches) and service pop (she had more aces than the Aussie and didn't face a break point).

In the 2nd set, Schiavone got fired up after what she felt was a bad line call. She briefly seemed to lose her concentration, and Stosur took advantage. She got her first break point chance in the fourth game, and broke for a 3-1 lead. Stosur held to go up 4-1, but Schiavone finally rebounded and went up triple break point on her serve two games later. Stosur missed a short forehand shot on break point #2, and the set was back on serve.

Stosur's game had not collapsed on this day by any means, but she was not fully the same player she'd been in Paris prior to the final, either. Much of the reason was Schiavone. Except for the moments following her questioning of the line call, the Italian never wavered from her gameplan, and seemingly refused to let the pressure of the moment get to her. Maybe she never felt it after such an unexpected run? Whereas Stosur is best rewarded when she keeps her emotions under control, rarely ever even reacting too much when she wins important points, Schiavone's occasional fist pumps, twirls and after-point half-skips to the baseline prove to be ideal illustrations of how visible emotion can serve as life-affirming fuel for another player's game.

In this particular contest, it also effectively served to foreshadow the match's conclusion.

In the set's deciding tie-break, Stosur took a 1-0 lead. But Schiavone managed a mini-break for 3-2 when a bad Stosur running drop shot was easily put away for a winner by the Italian. Playing the breaker with a line of sweaty hair indiscriminately matted to her forehead, Schiavone got the best of her controlled and everything-in-its-place opponent more and more with each point. A volley winner made gave her a 4-2 lead. She jumped into the air. A forehand winner made it 5-2, and a low backhand volley gave her a match point at 6-2. With Schiavone's momentum seemingly unstoppable, Stosur framed a forehand off the court and it was over.

With a three-set final still absent at Roland Garros since 2001, Schiavone won 6-4/7-6(2).

She becomes the first-ever Italian women's slam champion, and the oldest first-time slam champ in the Open era. When it was over, Schiavone collapsed onto her back on the court, then quickly rolled over and gave the red clay a long smooch. Best. First. Date. Ever. So what if it came in her 39th slam, the second-longest wait before lifting a major trophy in women's tennis history? When she hopped up to shake Stosur's hand at the net, her white shirt was covered in red. On this day, winning a grand slam didn't have to be pretty... even when the new champ's game turned out to be far more beautiful than anyone anticipated.

Over the years, climbing into the stands in celebration of winning a slam title has almost became a rote, forced and unnecessary procedure since Pat Cash impetuously inaugurated the trend at Wimbledon back in 1987. But that wasn't the case with Schiavone's trip to the seats. After climbing over the railing and wading through the stands to get to her cheering section (she was ultimately dragged into it, really), she received a group hug of epic proportions in one of the most heartwarming scenes following any slam in recent memory. Ah, those life-loving Italians.

But the Schiavone scene didn't end there. In the trophy ceremony, she continued to let her joy flag fly.

Singing along with the Italian national anthem (the music was surprisingly monotonous, so I assume the words have great meaning), she flashed the huge smile that once again threatened to steal the world. A few feet away, Stosur, now sans glasses, looked down and ahead as she tried very hard to not allow her obvious-in-her-naked-eyes deep emotions of disappointment to consume her. A few moments later, while addressing the crowd, Schiavone turned to the Aussie and told her to not feel too sad, saying, "You are young. You can do it." Even after substituting her opponent's dream with her own, Schiavone was still able to make her (finally) flash a smile. Stosur seemed to be thankful for the moment of relief... even if in the back of her mind, she might have been thinking that she's only three years younger than the "old" Italian.

In between hugging and lovingly kissing the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen as if the occasion was the reuniting of herself with a long lost child she never knew she had, Schiavone still managed to grab the microphone one last time to thank trophy presenter Mary Pierce (it's the tenth anniversary of her RG title), telling her how much she loved her and was glad that she was there. The Frenchwoman seemed truly touched by the unexpected gratitude.

Sometimes, you can almost viscerally sense the moment when a player becomes something more in everyone's mind's eye from that day forward and forever. Anyone who watched Jana Novotna cry on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent could never be an uninterested bystander the rest of her career. Even more than her heroic play today, it was Schiavone's oh-so-thankful, oh-so-joyful, oh-so-life-affirming post-match moments that served as the moment for the Italian and anyone who was watching her. Nasty comments, intense rivalries and in-your-face outbursts often garner the most headlines in tennis, but it's the small, more intimate moments like this that make a player go from a familiar name to a person that you can't help but want to see succeed. Needless to say, it was a nice change.

Two weeks ago, you would have been thought demented to say it: "Francesca Schiavone is the champion of Roland Garros." Now, you would be called a crazy genius. Wonders never cease.

Oh, I get the feeling there's going to be a hot time in the old city tonight. And the next day. And maybe the one after that, too.

Fini.


...and, finally...

If Tom Petty was singing it, it was always worth listening to. Best known as the lead singer of the Heartbreakers (formed in 1976) and as a co-founding member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys (w/ George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Oribson and Jeff Lynne), he was a multi-decade producer of timeless hits. Inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Famer in 2002. He was still active and touring up until his sudden death a year ago this October.

["American Girl"]


["Refugee"]


["Don't Do Me Like That"]


["Don't Come Around Here No More" - the "Alice in Wonderland" theme video is fantastically weird]

"Full Moon Fever" (1989) was essentially Petty's first solo album (he only had three), producing a number of signature hits. Including...

["I Won't Back Down" - from the 9/11 telethon special in 2001]


["Runnin' Down a Dream"]


["Free Fallin'"]

Like so many singers, Petty also did a bit of acting. But, personally, I'm partial to his voice work on one of my all-time favorite animated comedies, "King of the Hill." Petty had a recurring role as the voice of Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt from 2004 to 2009. It's still hard to believe it's him, but the animators *did* make the character resemble him, at least a little.


He even did the Super Bowl halftime show in 2008...


His last performance on Septmber 25, 2017:





=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF QF=
#17 Serena Williams/USA def. #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. #3 Sloane Stephens/USA
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #14 Madison Keys/USA
#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #7 Mertens/Schuurs (BEL/NED)
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) def. Jakupovic/Khromacheva (SLO/RUS)
Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN) def. Pavlyuchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT)
#2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. #6 Hradecka/Makarova

=MIXED DOUBLES SF=
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) def. (WC) McHale/C.Harrison (USA/USA)
Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO) def. Sh.Zhang/Peers (CHN/AUS)

=GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Coco Gauff/USA vs. Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS
Eli Mandlik/USA vs. Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR
#3 Wang Xiyu/CHN vs. #16 Lea Ma/USA
#9 Naho Sato/JPN vs. #5 Caty McNally/USA
#8 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN vs. Taisya Pachkaleva/RUS
Moyuka Uchijima/JPN vs. #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Violet Apisah/PNG vs. #11 Clara Burel/FRA
#14 Zheng Qinwen/CHN vs. Emma Raducanu/GBR

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Aniek van Koot/NED
Dana Mathewson/USA vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. Lucy Shuker/GBR
Marjolein Buis/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Kamiji (NED/JPN) vs. Ellerbrock/Shuker (GER/GBR)
Mathewson/Montjane (USA/RSA) vs. #2 Buis/van Koot (NED/NED)


















**ACTIVE CAREER SLAM SF**
36 - SERENA WILLIAMS, USA (30-5)
23 - Venus Williams, USA (16-7)
20 - Maria Sharapova RUS (10-10)
7 - Angelique Kerber, GER (4-3)
7 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (4-3)
7 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-4)
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (4-2)
6 - Jelena Jankovic, SRB (1-5)
5 - Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4-1)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-3)
5 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2-3)
5 - Aga Radwanska POL (1-4)
4 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (3-1)
4 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (2-2)
--
NOTE: 3 - Keys (1-2) = to play QF

**ALL-TIME CAREER SLAM SF - Open era**
52 - Chris Evert
44 - Martina Navrtailova
37 - Steffi Graf
36 - SERENA WILLIAMS
36 - Margaret Court

**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
RG: -
WI: Julia Goerges/GER
US: Naomi Osaka/JPN, Anastasija Sevastova/LAT
--
NOTE: Suarez-Navarro would be first-time SF w/ QF win

**2018 SLAM SEMIFINALISTS BY NATION**
4 - United States (Keys,Stephens,S.Williams-2)
3 - Germany (Goerges,Kerber-2)
2 - Latvia (Ostapenko,Sevastova)
2 - Romania (Halep-2)
1 - Belgium (Mertens)
1 - Denmark (Wozniacki)
1 - Japan (Osaka)
1 - Spain (Muguruza)
--
NOTE: Keys (USA) vs. Suarez-Navarro (ESP) in QF

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[BEL Champions]
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2005 Kim Clijsters
2007 Justine Henin
2009 Kim Clijsters
2010 Kim Clijsters
[BEL Finalists]
2003 Kim Clijsters
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne
[BEL Semifinalists]
2009 Yanina Wickmayer
[BEL Quarterfinalists]
2001 Kim Clijsters
[BEL Rd. of 16]
1992 Sabine Appelmans
1999 Sabine Appelmans
2001 Justine Henin
2002 Justine Henin
2002 Kim Clijsters
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2005 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2010 Yanina Wickmayer
2018 Elise Mertens

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[ASIAN NATION Champions]
-
[ASIAN NATION Finalists]
-
[ASIAN NATION Semifinalists]
2013 Li Na, CHN
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN (still active in '18)
[ASIAN NATION Quarterfinalists]
1993 Kimiko Date, JPN
1994 Kimiko Date, JPN
2004 Shinobu Asagoe, JPN
2009 Li Na, CHN
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
[ASIAN NATION Rd. of 16]
1975 Kazuko Sawamatsu, JPN (3rd Rd.)
1981 Lee Duk-hee, KOR
1994 Mana Endo, JPN
1994 Elena Likhovtseva, KAZ
1995 Kimiko Date, JPN
2003 Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
2003 Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2004 Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2005 Sania Mirza, IND
2006 Li Na, CHN
2008 Li Na, CHN
2011 Peng Shuai, CHN
2016 Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ

**BACKSPIN 2018 ITF AWARD WINNERS**
JAN: Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
AO: -
FEB/MAR: Rebecca Marino, CAN
MARCH: Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
1Q: ANDREEA AMALIA ROSCA, ROU
APR: Varvara Flink, USA
MAY: Vera Lapko, BLR
RG: -
2Q Clay Court: VERA LAPKO, BLR
JUN: Alison Riske, USA
WI: -
2Q Grass Court: ALISON RISKE, USA
JUL/AUG: Laura Siegemund, GER
AUG: Fernanda Brito, CHI
[2018 Weekly ITF Award Wins]
3 - Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
2 - Madison Brengle, USA
2 - Fernanda Brito, CHI
2 - Varvara Flink, RUS
2 - Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
2 - Vera Lapko, BLR
2 - Rebecca Marino, CAN
2 - Andreea Amalia Rosca, ROU
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Gabriella Taylor, GBR
2 - Taylor Townsend, USA

**LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN US OPEN SF, since 2000**
Unseeded - 2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS
Unseeded - 2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
Unseeded - 2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
Unseeded - 2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
Unseeded - 2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
Unseeded - 2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA (RU)
Unseeded - 2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
Unseeded - 2017 Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
Wild Card - 2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W)
#28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W)
#20 Naomi Osaka, JPN
#20 - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
#19 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
#19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic,SRB
#17 Serena Williams, USA
#17 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
#15 - 2017 Madison Keys, USA (RU)
#12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU)
#12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA
#10 - 2001 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#10 - 2002 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
#10 - 2012 Sara Errani, ITA
#10 - 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (RU)
#10 - 2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (RU)
==
[IN 2018 U.S. OPEN QF]
#14 Madison Keys
#30 Carla Suarez-Navarro

**OUTSIDE TOP 16 SEEDS IN SLAM SF, since 2000**
8 - #17-19 (last 2: #19 Sevastova '18 US, #17 S.Williams '18 US)
17 - #20-25 (last 2: #25 S.Williams '18 WI, #20 Osaka '18 US)
4 - #26-29 (last 2: #28 Petkovic '14 RG, #26 Pennetta '15 US)
4 - #30-32 (last 2: #30 Bouchard '14 AO, #30 Bacsinszky '17 RG)
25 - unseeded (last 2: Stephens '17 US, Mertens '18 AO)
4 - wild card (last 2: Henin '10 AO, Lisicki '11 WI)
--
NOTE: #30 Suarez-Navarro to play QF

**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...Latisha Chan, TPE
1...Andrea Sestini-Hlavackova, CZE
1...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
1...Nicole Melichar, USA
1...Laura Siegemund, GER
1...Abigail Spears, USA
1...Elena Vesnina, RUS
1...Heather Watson, GBR

**RECENT U.S. OPEN MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
1998 Serena Williams/Max Mirnyi, USA/BLR
1999 Ai Sugiyama/Mahesh Bhupathi, JPN/IND
2000 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario/Jared Palmer, ESP/USA
2001 Rennae Stubbs/Todd Woodbridge, AUS/AUS
2002 Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan, USA/USA
2003 Katarina Srebotnik/Bob Bryan, SLO/USA
2004 Vera Zvonareva/Bob Bryan, RUS/USA
2005 Daniela Hantuchova/Mahesh Bhupathi, SVK/IND
2006 Martina Navratilova/Bob Bryan, USA/USA
2007 Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi, BLR/BLR
2008 Cara Black/Leander Paes, ZIM/IND
2009 Carly Gullickson/Travis Parrott, USA/USA
2010 Liezel Huber/Bob Bryan, USA/USA
2011 Melanie Oudin/Jack Sock, USA/USA
2012 Ekaterina Makarova/Bruno Soares, RUS/BRA
2013 Andrea Hlavackova/Max Mirnyi, CZE/BLR
2014 Sania Mirza/Bruno Soares, IND/BRA
2015 Martina Hingis/Leander Paes, SUI/IND
2016 Laura Siegemund/Mate Pavic, GER/CRO
2017 Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
2018 ?
[2018]
AO: Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic, CAN/CRO
RG: Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig, TPE/CRO
WI: Nicole Melichar & Alexander Peya, USA/AUT
US: ?

*U.S. OPEN WHEELCHAIR WINNERS*
[singles]
1991 Monique Kalkman, NED
1992 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1993 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1994 Monique Kalkman, NED
1995 Monique Kalkman, NED
1996 Maaike Smit, NED
1997 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
1998 Esther Vergeer, NED
1999 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2001 Sonja Peters, NED
2002 Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Maaike Smit, NED
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 --
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 --
2013 Aniek van Koot, NED
2014 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015 Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2016 --
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 ?
[doubles]
2005 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2006 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2007 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 --
2009 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 --
2013 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 --
2017 Marjolein Buis & Diede de Groot, NED/NED
2018 ?



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: 4th - #20 Osaka d. #26 Sabalenka
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 2nd - (Q) Muchova d. #12 Muguruza
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Osaka, Suarez-Navarro, Sevastova
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF: Keys, Stephens(L), S.Williams(W)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: S.Williams
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Sevastova, Suarez-Navarro, Tsurenko
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams, Suarez-Navarro
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 10. More tomorrow.
↧
↧

US.11 - For the Love of Osaka

September 6, 2018, 11:40 pm
$
0
0
While the Ashe Court roof was closed early in the day in preparation for expected evening storms, no one was fully ready for the storms brought to the fore *inside* the stadium by Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Least of all Anastasija Sevastova and Madison Keys.



#17 Serena Williams/USA def. #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT 6-3/6-0
...the thought going into this match was that (maybe) Sevastova had a shot because (remember?) Roberta Vinci defeated Serena in a U.S. Open semi once, and the Latvian (kind of) had a game that brought to mind the Italian's slice-heavy attack that kept Williams off balance and frustrated. It was a good thought (I guess), but Williams has shown (starting with her devastating form vs. Venus) that she was ready, willing and able to get slam #24 at this U.S. Open.

And she more than did it again tonight, as well.

In the first meeting between the two, Williams had to find her form and get used to Sevastova's game after facing exclusively power players coming into this semifinal. Sevastova broke to open the 1st set, and held with a forehand pass a game later. But Serena began to carve into the Latvian's game soon after. After taking a love/30 lead in game #4, she got the break back on BP #3 when Sevastova failed in her drop shot attempt off a deep Williams return. The shot had been used to lethal effect vs. Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals, but Williams was prepared for it. And, really, Sevastova wasn't feeling the shot nearly as well, either. Another poor drop shot put her BP down two games later, and Serena's screaming (the ball, not her) crosscourt forehand winner got the break for a 4-2 lead. Williams fired her first ace to go up 40/15 a game later, then put away an overhead for 5-2. Serving to win the set, Serena had two more aces and took the set 6-3.

Showing great (and unexpected) forward aggression, Williams continually charged the net throughout the night. Her volley put-away broke Sevastova in the opening game, then she held with another for 2-0. At that point, she'd won 19 of 22 points at the net. Serena didn't pull back, and instead charged into her 31st career slam final. Winning the last seven games of the match, and twelve of the final thirteen, to win 6-3/6-0.



Williams had 31 winners in the match's fifteen games, and was an astounding 24-of-28 at the net. She won 22 of 29 first serve points, and 50% on her second. Oh, and, as a returner, she won 18 of Sevastova's 22 second serve points (82%). Eek.

#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #14 Madison Keys/USA 6-2/6-4
...two years ago, Osaka and Keys met on Ashe in the 3rd Round. Keys won the 1st set and seemed on course to winning in straights, only to go off the rails and see a teenage Osaka pull out a close 2nd set and race to a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. She twice served for the match, but couldn't hold on. While she proved that she wasn't yet ready for the big stage, Keys buckled down and proved that, after much trail and error, *she* finally was. Since then, Keys, three years Osaka's senior, has climbed higher in the rankings and deeper into a slam draw ('17 U.S. Open finalist) while her Japanese counterpart was still trying to find her way to the same level. Going into the night, Keys held a 3-0 advantage head-to-head, but it was Osaka who'd won the biggest title (Indian Wells this spring) between the two since they last played at Flushing Meadows. When they met on the same court on Thursday night, this time with a slam final berth on the line, the clash was set to be a gauge of whether Keys was *still* ahead of Osaka some 725 (or so) days later.

As it turned, she wasn't. Instead, Osaka proved that not only has she caught Keys, but she's surpassed her.

On a night in which Osaka, though she admitted afterward that she *thought* she was visibly shaking in the moment, gave the appearance of a player calm, cool, collected and ready for whatever her newly-honed talent has in storm for her, Keys proved to still be unable to fully control her own power shots under the pressure of such a big moment. While she wasn't as "absent" as she was in last year's final vs. Sloane Stephens, Keys was not only consistently out-hit and out-served by Osaka, who collected nearly *all* of the important points on the night, but the flying rally-ending forehands and wild return shots that *used* to betray her in important moments haven't yet been wrung out of her game, either.

In a sense, the match turned totally in Osaka's favor in two games, both early in each set. In the fourth game of the 1st, the 20-year old climbed out of a love/40 hole (which had her banging her racket in frustration) with big serves and an assist from hardly-smart going-for-too-much returns from Keys. She saved four BP and held for 2-2. Keys' game immediately dipped in the aftermath and she quickly dropped her own serve moments later. Osaka saved two more BP in game #6, then broke the Bannerette's serve in the next game to take a 5-2 lead. After failing to put away her first set point, Osaka smoothly controlled the following deuce point rally, dragging Keys from one side of the court to the other until she finally committed an error to get a second SP opportunity. A big service winner up the middle claimed the 1st at 6-2 as Osaka won her fifth straight game. Keys was 0-for-6 on BP in the set, while Osaka was 2-for-3.

After Osaka broke Keys again to start the 2nd, the 23-year old had just five winners vs. twenty-one UE for the match. It was the following Osaka service game, though, that would set the course for the match's final set.

Again, Keys carved out multiple BP chances on Osaka's serve, but again Osaka coolly kept her head and served big (saving two BP with aces) while Keys habitually made errors at the worst possible times. The Japanese player saved six MORE BP in the game, which lasted 22 points and thirteen minutes, to hold for 2-0. While Keys' held serve without much trouble the remainder of the set, Osaka refused to give up her advantage on her own. In game #8, she saved another BP (13-of-13 for the night) and held with a backhand down the line that Keys couldn't get back. Serving for the match at 5-4, she quickly reached double MP. Osaka's first serve then virtually devoured Keys, who could only get out of the way and try to fight it off, sending a wild backhand into the stands to her right.



Osaka's 6-2/6-4 win makes her the first Japanese woman to reach a slam singles final in the Open era, and the youngest U.S. Open finalist since 2009 (Wozniacki). Meanwhle, Keys had collected her bag and was in the lockerroom in what seemed to be a world record time.

Naturally, since we're talking about Osaka, the night didn't end with match point. In her on-court interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, when asked about how she saved all those BP, she admitted that there was something -- or someone -- she couldn't stop thinking about.



Osaka has already played her idol once, in Miami in Serena's fourth match back after becoming a mother. Just days after her Indian Wells title on the opposite coast of North America, Osaka won 6-3/6-2, though the Serena she'll see on Saturday won't be the same one she saw in March. But the awe *she* showed while simply sharing the court with Williams may not be there, either. And that could be key, since any chance to defeat Williams in a slam final is pretty much a fantasy for her opponent if they're too busy admiring the shadow she casts to actually keep their focus and head in the game.



Against the 23-time slam champ, Osaka will have to keep her head *and* find even more than she's ever found before. It may not be enough against a Williams on a mission, but Osaka's got at least "a puncher's chance."

When asked what her message was to Serena, Osaka showed that while she hopes to steal Serena's moment in the spotlight this weekend, she's still a fan-girl at heart, saying, "I love you" to her longtime inspiration. Not only that, she added, "I love everybody."

That's all right, Naomi. As long as you "dislike" Serena a little on Saturday... just for a couple hours.




=DAY 11 NOTES=
...heat and, later, stormy weather cut an already-shortened schedule even more than expected on Thursday. But some matches *did* get finished without the help of a roof.

In junior action, the quest for a third straight Bannerette champion on the girls side is down to '17 finalist Coco Gauff (well, almost). The #1 seed advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday, but saw fellow U.S. juniors #5 Caty McNally (lost to #9 Naho Sato/JPN) and Eli Mandlik (def. by Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR) fall by the wayside.

The only other Bannerette left in the draw is #16 Lea Ma, but she'll have her work cut out for her on Friday, as she'll be resuming her match with #3 Wang Xiyu with the Chinese girl leading 6-1/4-0, 30/40. Play on the outside court was suspended, either giving Ma a chance to regroup, or just an overnight reprieve that might last about five additional minutes once play is resumed tomorrow.

Meanwhile, #8-seeded Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez leads Hordette Taisya Pachkaleva 6-2/5-5.

Other 3rd Round results today included Brit Emma Raducanu eliminating #14 Zheng Qinwen, #11 Clara Burel (FRA) defeating Violet Apisah (PNG), and #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (COL) advancing past Japan's Moyuka Uchijima. MCOS will be seeking to become the third South American to reach the U.S. junior semis in the last two years, as Argentina's Maria Carle and MCOS' fellow Colombian, Emiliana Arango, did it last year.

...in women's doubles, the slam winning streak of top seeds Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, at fifteen matches coming into the day, was stopped cold by #13 Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, who took down the RG & SW19 winning Czechs 6-4/7-6(6) to advance to their first slam final as a duo.

Barty is 0-4 in career slam WD finals, losing one at each major with Casey Dellacqua, while this is Vandeweghe's first slam WD final. She reached a pair of mixed finals (AO/US w/ Horia Tecau and Rajeev Ram) in 2016. The pair won the title in Miami this spring.



They'll face #2-seeded Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic (So, a million shots this weekend of Thiem cheering in the stands? Yeah, probably not.), who defeated Stosur/Zhang Shuai by almost the exact same score, 6-4/7-6(4), as the other semi. Babos/Mladenovic won the Australian Open in January, and the Pasty would be three-quarters of the way to a Career Doubles Slam with a win, having previously won RG with Caroline Garcia.

...the women's wheelchair doubles were supposed to start today, but the two matches were cancelled do to all the weather suspensions and delays.

...in the WTA 125 Challenger in Chicago, the QF are set: Blinkova vs. Vickery, Barthel vs. Yastremska, Abanda vs. Maria and Lepchenko vs. Martic.

...also, a post-Open note about Elina Svitolina. As it turns out, The Process does indeed include a coaching change.



She highlighted the good aspects of her results under Thierry Ascione in her announcement, but (smartly showing tact) left out the tremendous slam disappointments (chokes, really) that also took place under Thierry Ascione's watch. One (a slam downturn) does not necessarily begat the other ("see ya, Thierry"), of course, as Svitolina has made it a matter of course to switch up coaches, even after seasons in which *all* her results improved, in a search for whatever she determined she needed to take the next step. It resulted in that rewarding year of work with Justine Henin, so it is what it is.

Whether she'll stick solely with her other coach, Andrew Bettles, or look elsewhere after the season, Svitolina now has the opportunity to make a bigger decision. 2019 is a year during which she really needs to make that slam leap or else risk being passed by by the likes the Ostapenkos, Osakas, Sabalenkas, Mertens, and others coming on strongly behind her. Osaka's move to go with Bajin shows how the right coaching decision at the right time can pay big dividends.

While a return by Henin is probably a long shot, might one suggest, oh, I don't know, one of the lucky-charm Spaniards out there? Anabel Medina-Garrigues (w/ Ostapenko at the '17 RG) or Conchita Martinez (Muguruza '17 Wimbledon & Pliskova at this Open) have shown they know how to keep a player's head in the game during a major. How about the other Belgian, Kim Clijsters? Francesca is suddenly on the market, as well... as will (surely) be a ton of other top coaches after the season. So, no hurry.




LIKE ON DAY 11:



SOON TO BATTLE IT OUT FROM THE COACHING SIDELINES... ON DAY 11:



LIKE ON DAY 11: When you're not involved in the second week of a major...



ESPN GETTING ITS HISTORY ON DURING THE PRE-GAME... ON DAY 11: Or not. Since, you know, Helen Wills was pretty well known for being the CALIFORNIAN who replaced Suzanne Lenglen as the dominant player in the women's game in the 1920s and '30s.


There was even a book written about them called The Goddess and the American Girl. Thing is, it isn't as if this is a *new* graphic (check the date on this tweet):



Of course, this just gives me another opportunity to link to my "Match of the Century" post, so...



...and, finally...

As things wind down here, this little section has almost evolved (devolved?) into a listing of some of the things I'd listen to while commuting back and forth to school years ago. Admittedly, I've gone a bit overboard, but it's been nice getting reacquainted with a lot of this stuff.

Bonnie Raitt's "Nick of Time" album was so good. There's a reason it swept through the Grammys that one year...

["Something To Talk About"]

["Thing Called Love"]

["Love Letter"]

["Nobody's Girl"]

["Nick of Time"]

Terence Trent D'Arby... he was supposed to be "the next big thing, a cross between Michael Jackson and Prince. It never really happened, but he *did* have a great voice.

["Wishing Well"]

["If You Let Me Stay"]

I did like me some early Sheryl Crow very much, too...

["Leaving Las Vegas"]

["If It Makes You Happy"]

["Everyday Is a Winding Road"]

["My Favorite Mistake"]

["A Change Would Do You Good"]


So, one more "And, finally..." to go for this slam. Who could it be? Grace Kelly? Harlow, Jean? Hmmm.




=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#17 Serena Williams/USA vs. #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) vs. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO)

=GIRLS SINGLES QF=
#1 Coco Gauff/USA vs. Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR
(#3 Wang Xiyu/CHN or #16 Lea Ma/USA) vs. #9 Naho Sato/JPN
(#8 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN or Taisya Pachkaleva/RUS) vs. #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
#11 Clara Burel/FRA vs. Emma Raducanu/GBR

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Aniek van Koot/NED
Dana Mathewson/USA vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. Lucy Shuker/GBR
Marjolein Buis/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Kamiji (NED/JPN) vs. Ellerbrock/Shuker (GER/GBR)
Mathewson/Montjane (USA/RSA) vs. #2 Buis/van Koot (NED/NED)





WHERE'S SIMONA? Ah, there she is.
View this post on Instagram

???? #family

A post shared by Simona Halep (@simonahalep) on










**ALL-TIME SLAM SINGLES TITLES**
24 - Margaret Smith-Court [11-5-3-5]
23 - Serena Williams [7-3-7-6]
22 - Steffi Graf [4-6-7-5]
19 - Helen Wills Moody [0-4-8-7]
18 - Martina Navratilova [3-2-9-4]
18 - Chris Evert [2-7-3-6]
12 - Billie Jean King [1-1-6-4]
12 - Suzanne Lenglen [0-6-6-0]

**ALL-TIME SLAM SINGLES FINALS - OPEN ERA**
34 - Chris Evert (18-16)
32 - Martina Navratilova (18-14)
31 - Serena Williams (23-7)
31 - Steffi Graf (22-9)
25 - Evonne Goolagong (7-18)
16 - Venus Williams (7-9)
13 - Monica Seles (9-4)
12 - Margaret Court (11-1) [+ 13-4 pre-Open]
12 - Billie Jean King (8-4) [+ 4-2 pre-Open]
12 - Justine Henin (7-5)
12 - Martina Hingis (5-7)
12 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (4-8)
[active]
31 - Serena Williams, USA (23-7)
16 - Venus Williams, USA (7-9)
10 - Maria Sharapova, RUS (5-5)
4 - Angelique Kerber, GER (3-1)
4 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (2-2)
4 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (4-4)
4 - Simona Halep, ROU (1-3)
3 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2-1)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (1-2)

**FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT U.S. OPEN**
[Open Era]
1968 Virginia Wade, GBR
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
[reached first slam final at U.S., active players]
1997 Venus Williams, USA
1999 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (W)
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Madison Keys, USA
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN

*OLDEST WOMEN'S SINGLES SLAM FINALISTS*
Martina Navratilova (37 yrs, 258 days) — lost '94 WI to C.Martinez
Venus Williams (37/28) - lost '17 WI to Muguruza
Serena Williams (2018 U.S. Open)
Serena Williams (36/291) - lost '18 WI to Kerber
Venus Williams (36/226) — '17 AO, lost to S.Williams
Serena Williams (35/125) — '17 AO, def. V.Williams
Martina Navratilova (34/325) — '91 US, lost to Seles
Serena Williams (34/287) — '16 WI, def. Kerber
Serena Williams (34/252) — '16 RG, lost to Muguruza
Serena Williams (34/127) — '16 AO, lost to Kerber

*ALL-TIME U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S TITLES*
8 - Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, NED/USA
7 - Helen Wills Moody, USA
6 - Serena Williams, USA*
6 - Chris Evert, USA
5 - Margaret Court, AUS
5 - Steffi Graf, GER

**U.S. OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE**
9...SERENA WILLIAMS (6-2)
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
2...Victoria Azarenka (0-2)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-1)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (0-2)
1...Maria Sharapova (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens (1-0)
1...Samantha Stosur (1-0)
1...NAOMI OSAKA (0-0)
1...Jelena Jankovic (0-1)
1...Angelique Kerber (1-0)
1...Madison Keys (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova (0-1)
1...Vera Zvonareva (0-1)

**LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA**
Unseeded/Wild Card - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2009)
Unseeded - Sloane Stephens, USA (2017)
#26 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (2015)
#9 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2011)
#9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2004)
#7 - Serena Williams, USA (1999)
#6 - Virginia Wade, GBR (1968)
-
IN FINAL: #17 S.Williams, #20 Osaka

**U.S. OPEN "Ms. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS**
2004 Shinobu Asagoe, JPN
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Tatiana Golovin, FRA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2010 Kaia Kanepi, EST
2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2013 Li Na, CHN
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2016 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
2017 All-Bannerette SF: Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN and Anastasija Sevstova, LAT
[2018]
AO: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
RG: Simona Halep, ROU
WI: Julia Goerges, GER
US: Naomi Osaka, JPN and Anastasija Sevstova, LAT

**U.S. OPEN LAST BANNERETTE STANDING**
2008 Serena Williams (W)
2009 Serena Williams (SF)
2010 Venus Williams (SF)
2011 Serena Williams (RU)
2012 Serena Williams (W)
2013 Serena Williams (W)
2014 Serena Williams (W)
2015 Serena Williams (SF)
2016 Serena Williams (SF)
2017 Sloane Stephens (W)
2018 Serena Williams
[2018]
AO: Madison Keys (QF)
RG: Sloane Stephens (RU)
WI: Serena Williams (RU)
US: Serena Williams

**U.S. OPEN "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS**
2010 Venus Williams, USA
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2015 Serena Williams, USA & Venus Williams, USA
2016 Madison Keys, USA
2017 "The Late Show starring Madison Keys"
2018 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
[2018]
AO: Elise Mertens, BEL
US: Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[USSR/RUS Champions]
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2006 Maria Sharapova
[USSR/RUS Finalists]
2004 Elena Dementieva
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2010 Vera Zvonareva
[USSR/RUS Semifinalists]
2000 Elena Dementieva
2005 Maria Sharapova
2005 Elena Dementieva
2007 Anna Chakvetadze
2008 Dinara Safina
2008 Elena Dementieva
2012 Maria Sharapova
2014 Ekaterina Makarova
[USSR/RUS Quarterfinalists]
1972 Olga Morozova, USSR
1976 Natasha Chmyreva, USSR
1988 Larisa Savchenko, USSR [LAT]
1990 Leila Meskhi, USSR [GEO]
2002 Elena Bovina
2003 Anastasia Myskina
2004 Nadia Petrova
2005 Nadia Petrova
2006 Dinara Safina
2006 Elena Dementieva
2011 Vera Zvonareva
2011 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2013 Ekaterina Makarova
[USSR/RUS Rd. of 16]
1970 Olga Morozova, USSR (3rd Rd.)
1973 Olga Morozova, USSR (3rd Rd.)
1989 Larisa Savchenko-Neiland, USSR [LAT]
1989 Natasha Zvereva, USSR [BLR]
1991 Natasha Zvereva, USSR [BLR]
1996 Anna Kournikova
1998 Anna Kournikova
1999 Elena Likhovtseva [ex-KAZ]
2001 Elena Likhovtseva [ex-KAZ]
2003 Nadia Petrova
2003 Elena Likhovtseva [ex-KAZ]
2003 Elena Dementieva
2003 Dinara Safina
2004 Vera Zvonareva
2005 Elena Likhovtseva [ex-KAZ]
2006 Anna Chakvetadze
2006 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2007 Dinara Safina
2009 Nadia Petrova
2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Vera Zvonareva
2010 Maria Sharapova
2010 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2010 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2010 Elena Dementieva
2011 Maria Kirilenko
2011 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2012 Nadia Petrova
2014 Maria Sharapova
2015 Ekaterina Makarova
2017 Dasha Kasatkina
2017 Maria Sharapova
2018 Maria Sharapova

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[TCH/CZE Champions]
1985 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
[TCH/CZE Finalists]
1980 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1982 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1986 Helena Sukova, TCH
1993 Helena Sukova
2016 Karolina Pliskova
[TCH/CZE Semifinalists]
1975 Martina Navratilova, TCH
1987 Helena Sukova, TCH
1994 Jana Novotna
1998 Jana Novotna
[TCH/CZE Quarterfinalists]
1981 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1983 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1984 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1984 Helena Sukova, TCH
1985 Helena Sukova, TCH
1989 Helena Sukova, TCH
1990 Jana Novotna, TCH
1995 Jana Novotna
1996 Jana Novotna
1997 Jana Novotna
2001 Daja Bedanova
2015 Petra Kvitova
2017 Karolina Pliskova
2017 Petra Kvitova
2018 Karolina Pliskova
[TCH/CZE Rd. of 16]
1974 Martina Navratilova, TCH (3rd Rd.)
1978 Regina Marsikova, TCH
1979 Regina Marsikova, TCH
1986 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1987 Hana Mandlikova, TCH
1987 Jana Novotna, TCH
1988 Helena Sukova, TCH
1989 Regina Rajchrtova, TCH
1990 Helena Sukova, TCH
1991 Jana Novotna, TCH
1991 Radka Zrubakova, TCH
1991 Regina Rajchrtova, TCH
1992 Helena Sukova, TCH
1993 Jana Novotna
2002 Daja Bedanova
2005 Nicole Vaidisova
2009 Petra Kvitova
2012 Petra Kvitova
2012 Andrea Hlavackova
2014 Lucie Safarova
2016 Petra Kvitova
2017 Lucie Safarova
2018 Marketa Vondrousova






TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):4th Rd. - #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN d. #26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-3/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:2nd Rd. - (Q) Karlina Muchova/CZE def. #12 Garbine Muguruza/ESP 3-6/6-4/6-4
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY:#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN and #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT (first-time slam finalist and semifinalist)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:#17 Serena Williams/USA (in final)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: S.Williams, Mattek-Sands
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Mattek-Sands
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos/Mladnevic, Barty/Vandeweghe
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING:Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (ended Sharapova's undefeated night streak)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 11. More (well, a little) tomorrow.
↧

US.12 - The Day Before the Day

September 7, 2018, 4:04 pm
$
0
0
Tomorrow, Naomi Osaka gets Serena Williams. Just like she wanted.

All righty then.



Part II: Tomorrow.




=DAY 12 NOTES=
...with a light schedule on men's semifinal day, the juniors and wheelchair players hit the courts to pare down the fields.

And there will NOT be a third straight Bannerette crowned the U.S. Open girls singles champion.

#16 Lea Ma was ushered out by #3 Wang Xinyu in the resumption of their 3rd Round match today, and then #1 Coco Gauff was upset in three sets in the QF by Ukrainian qualifier Dasha Lopatetskaya, who'd already knocked off #6 Clara Tauson and Eli Mandlik earlier in the tournament.




Also advancing to the semis was #11-seeded Pastry Clara Burel, who defeated Brit Emma Raducanu. Burel reached the AO girls final in January, losing to Liang En-shuo. #3 Wang (CHN) defeated #9 Naho Sato of Japan, giving her a semifinal result in Melbourne, London and New York this year. And #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano took out #8-seeded Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, as the Colombian makes it back-to-back years with at least one South American girl in the junior semis (and the second straight year with a Colombian, as well).

...wheelchair play finally started, and the top seeds had little difficulty reaching the semis. After losing to Aniek van Koot in Chicago last week, #1 Diede de Groot defeated her fellow Dutch today, 6-1/6-2. Japan's #2-seeded Yui Kamiji double-bageled Marjolein Buis (NED), and Germany's Sabine Ellerbrook won love & 4 over Dana Mathewson of the U.S.. South Africa's Kgothatso Montjane, moving up of late, took out Brit Lucy Shuker 4 & 4.



#1-seeds de Groot & Kamiji also advanced to the doubles final, where they'll take on #2 Buis/van Koot.




LIKE ON DAY 12:From before the start of the U.S. Open. So far, the weight hasn't been too much.

View this post on Instagram

I used to run around here when I was little ??

A post shared by Naomi Osaka ????? (@naomiosakatennis) on



LIKE ON DAY 12: Yep, sort of knew that the Big Sascha/Osaka pairing might end up being HUGE by the end of 2018.



LIKE ON DAY 12: Building the Perfect Madison, Pt.56



AND IF THAT ONE WASN'T TO YOUR LIKING... ON DAY 12: ...then try *this* post-tournament perspective-showing tweet on for size, courtesy of the (for about 24 more hours) reigning Open champ.



MEMORIES (& *the* "what if"" of the last quarter century... ON DAY 12:



Seles then won four of the *next* five slam titles (giving her 7 in 8 slam appearances from the '91 to '92 AO), then was stabbed in the back during a changeover in Stuttgart in spring '93. She missed over two years, and only won one more major from then until her final season in 2003.

LIKE ON DAY 12: A suggestion for Ash & CoCo...



LIKE ON DAY 12: Finally, time for the party...



(ROLLS EYES)... ON DAY 12: Further proof that the old, tired two-pronged take on women's tennis still exists, no matter what actually happens between or outside the lines. Either...

1) the top players win all the majors, so that means "no one else is any good"; or

2) everyone is good and different players win, so that means the top players aren't good enough.



...and, finally... the end of this two-week long musical mash-up has arrived.

Of course, I couldn't leave without playing something from Madonna. Seemingly built for controversy, she's been an affirming force, a conversation-starter (and ender) and, in the end, a survivor of the music and culture wars for over three decades (and not just because she's now unbelievably the last living member of the four-headed 1980s/90s pop music "royal family" that included herself, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince, either.).

Why, just the other week, the Michigan native stirred the pot again simply by paying tribute to the late Aretha Franklin at an awards show. Speaking of the influence of the Motown legend on her own dreams and career, the whole thing turned into a biographical recap of Madonna's life. Presented with irony by Madonna herself.

So many people were shocked. But, come on, was anyone really surprised that Madonna managed to make the moment about Madonna? Wouldn't it have been disappointing if she hadn't? I mean, she wouldn't be Madonna if the moment wasn't made to be viewed by everyone else through her own personal Madonna-colored glasses, right? Isn't that sort of why so many people love her, or hate her, or blow hot and cold about her, depending on the decade?

She's Madonna. She was born for this. Or she's created the legend that she was, at least. And even that, too, is so Madonna.

My personal Madonna Louise Ciccone countdown...

[#10 - "Santa Baby" - most like the original Eartha Kitt version more, but there's room for a light-hearted second rendition]


[#9 - "Material Girl" - mostly because of the Marilyn Monroe-inspired video]


[#8 - "Into the Groove"]


[#7 - "Ray of Light"]


[#6 - "Vogue"]


[#5 - "Papa Don't Preach"]


[#4 - "Cherish"]


[#3 - "Express Yourself"]


[#2 - "Like a Prayer"]


[#1 - "Borderline"]





=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#17 Serena Williams/USA vs. #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) vs. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO)

=GIRLS SINGLES SF=
(Q) Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR vs. #3 Wang Xiyu/CHN
#4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL vs. #11 Clara Burel/FRA

=GIRLS DOUBLES SF=
[ (#1 Gauff/McnNally (USA/USA) or #7 Osorio Serrano/Price (COL/USA) ] vs. #5 Garland/Uchijimi (TPE/JPN)
Beck/Navarro (USA/USA) vs. Baptiste/Hewitt (USA/USA)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Kamiji (NED/JPN) vs. #2 Buis/van Koot (NED/NED)





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NYC till next time... ??

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**U.S. OPEN "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS**
2007 Kristina Kucova, SVK
2008 Gabriela Paz, VEN
2009 Heather Watson, GBR
2010 Yulia Putintseva, RUS & Sloane Stephens, USA
2011 Grace Min, USA
2012 Vicky Duval, USA
2013 Tornado Alicia Black, USA
2014 Marie Bouzkova, CZE
2015 Dalma Galfi, HUN
2016 Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
2017 Maria Lourdes Carle, ARG & Emiliana Arango, COL
2018 Dasha Lopatetskaya, UKR
[2018]
AO: Liang En-shuo, TPE
RG: Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN and Caty McNally, USA
WI: Wang Xinyu, CHN and Wang Xinyu, CHN
US: Dasha Lopatetskaya, UKR

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[FRA Champions]
-
[FRA Finalists]
2005 Mary Pierce
[FRA Semifinalists]
2002 Amelie Mauresmo
2006 Amelie Mauresmo
[FRA Quarterfinalists]
1970 Francoise Durr
1994 Mary Pierce
1997 Sandrine Testud
1999 Mary Pierce
2000 Nathalie Tauziat
2001 Amelie Mauresmo
2003 Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Amelie Mauresmo
2005 Amelie Mauresmo
2006 Tatiana Golovin
2012 Marion Bartoli
2015 Kristina Mladenovic
[FRA Rd. of 16]
1968 Francoise Durr (3rd Rd.)
1969 Francoise Durr (3rd Rd.)
1971 Francoise Durr (3rd Rd.)
1971 Gail Chanfreau (3rd Rd.)
1972 Francoise Durr (3rd Rd.)
1976 Francoise Durr
1983 Pascale Pararis
1990 Nathalie Tauziat
1992 Mary Pierce
1993 Mary Pierce
1993 Nathalie Tauziat
1996 Sandrine Testud
1997 Mary Pierce
1998 Nathalie Dechy
1998 Mary Pierce
1998 Nathalie Tauziat
1999 Amelie Mauresmo
1999 Julie Halard-Decugis
2000 Sandrine Testud
2000 Mary Pierce
2001 Sandrine Testud
2001 Nathalie Tauziat
2003 Mary Pierce
2004 Mary Pierce
2005 Nathalie Dechy
2006 Virginie Razzano
2006 Aravane Rezai
2007 Marion Bartoli
2008 Amelie Mauresmo
2008 Severine Bremond
2008 Marion Bartoli

**50 YEARS OF OPEN ERA TENNIS AT THE U.S. OPEN**
[ESP Champions]
1994 Arantxa Sanchez
[ESP Finalists]
1992 Arantxa Sanchez
[ESP Semifinalists]
1990 Arantxa Sanchez
1993 Arantxa Sanchez
1995 Conchita Martinez
1996 Conchita Martinez
[ESP Quarterfinalists]
1989 Arantxa Sanchez
1991 Arantxa Sanchez
1991 Conchita Martinez
1997 Arantxa Sanchez
1998 Arantxa Sanchez
2012 Carla Suarez-Navarro
2018 Carla Suarez-Navarro
[ESP Rd. of 16]
1988 Arantxa Sanchez
1989 Conchita Martinez
1993 Conchita Martinez
1995 Arantxa Sanchez
1996 Arantxa Sanchez
1997 Magui Serna
1998 Conchita Martinez
1999 Arantxa Sanchez
1999 Conchita Martinez
2000 Magui Serna
2000 Arantxa Sanchez
2011 Carla Suarez-Navarro
2016 Carla Suarez-Navarro
2017 Carla Suarez-Navarro
2017 Garbine Muguruza



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):4th Rd. - #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN d. #26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-3/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:2nd Rd. - (Q) Karlina Muchova/CZE def. #12 Garbine Muguruza/ESP 3-6/6-4/6-4
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY:#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN and #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT (first-time slam finalist and semifinalist)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:#17 Serena Williams/USA (in final)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: S.Williams, Mattek-Sands
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Mattek-Sands
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos/Mladnevic, Barty/Vandeweghe
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING:Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (ended Sharapova's undefeated night streak)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR




All for Day 12. More tomorrow.
↧

The Great Wave (& Truth) of Osaka

September 8, 2018, 11:38 pm
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Naomi Osaka is a newly minted grand slam champion. Her U.S. Open title at age 20 may turn out to the first of many over the next decade as she cuts a swath through women's tennis along with her generational cohorts.



That's what's important here.

Not the distraction of stewing arguments swirling around a great champion acting like anything but, nor a chair umpire who may or may not have better carried out his duties by refusing to "swallow his whistle" and "take one for the team" rather than carrying out his assignment to adhere to the rules as they are presented to be followed. Not the most ridiculous notions, from both high and low (and sometimes from supposedly in-the-know sources who should know better), that Serena Williams was somehow "cheated" or "robbed" of anything on Ashe Stadium Court in the women's final that she didn't set the stage *herself* to lose her grip on.

Osaka was awarded (via penalty) a point and a game during the course of a contest which she totally controlled but for a few-minutes-long stretch, and is thus a champion on tremendous merit. No player was better than her the last two weeks. She lost just one set, and didn't show her lack of experience against the greatest champion she'll ever face, on the biggest stage on which she'll ever play. No woman at this Open deserved this title more, and no one could have deserved how things spun out of control in the final games any less.

That's the truth of what happened at Flushing Meadows. Don't let the "fake news" convince you otherwise.


You knew it'd happen eventually. What Serena Williams (and Venus) begat, one day, would flare up and cost her a few tennis prizes down the line, as one (or more) from the generation of players that her dominance inspired managed to rise up herself to snatch away an additional Williams moment in the sun and make it her own.

Perhaps no player better embodies the notion better then 20-year old Naomi Osaka, a player who has never known a tennis world that didn't include one Serena Jameka Williams. Osaka's father was inspired by Richard Williams' tennis upbringing and development (example: no junior play) of *his* daughters, so Leonard "San" Francois followed in those footsteps with his own, Naomi and Mari, as closely as he was able. As the Williams Sisters sought to break down the sport's ages-old racial barriers and prejudices, Osaka, the daughter of a mixed marriage between her Haitian-born father and Japanese mother (Tamaki), born in Osaka but raised in the U.S., has challenged the notion of what it means to even be "Japanese" even while she struggles to determine just where her own thoughts and actions (she knows and can speak Japanese, but is too self-conscious about her abilities to do it publicly) place her as far as whether she *feels* Japanese, American, or some multi-cultural, biracial, transcontinental combination of both.

Her big game, and especially her Serena-esque serve, bear much credit to the dreams of glory first presented by the similar game and weapons of her childhood idol. When she first played Williams in Miami, immediately following her own breakout Indian Wells title run, Osaka's sense of awe and respect, even while defeating Serena in what was just her fourth match back after having daughter Olympia, far outweighed her actual win in the match. She was on the same court with Williams. It was a dream come true. Her tendency to slightly bow to opponents, a well-known point of etiquette in Japanese society, took on a whole new meaning for Osaka at that particular meeting at the net.

As Osaka has improved every aspect of her came since bringing aboard Sascha Bajin (naturally, Serena's longtime former hitting partner and "unofficial assistant coach" during some of her greatest seasons) as *her* coach, from her fitness and movement to game tactics and consistency, she has proved true all the whispers about her preternatural power and potential for greatness. Corralling all her promise in the desert in March, Osaka soon experienced the normal up-and-down follow-up stretch common when a young player first experiences great success. But she arrived in New York for this U.S. Open declaring that the "fun" had returned to her game. And it showed. She blazed through the two weeks leading up to her maiden slam final, a first by a Japanese woman, losing just one set (vs. Aryna Sabalenka, the booming Belarusian who'd stolen the pre-Open Generation PDQ spotlight) and proving herself to be more than able to handle the pressure of the moment in her first deep run at a major (saving 13 of 13 BP in the semis vs. '17 finalist Madison Keys).

Not backing away from the prospect of facing Williams in the final, Osaka instead winningly embraced the moment two days ago. "I really want to play Serena," she said. Why? "Because she's Serena."

Exactly.

Of course, still being a Serena fan, Osaka's final words to Serena as both headed off to prepare for this final were, "I love you."

"Serena being Serena" has been a thing for a while now. Well, say hello to "Naomi being Naomi." (And, as it turned, the flip side of "Serena being Serena," as well.)


Osaka showed no sign of nerves in the opening moments of the biggest match of her life. While Williams held from love/30 to kick things of, Osaka followed suit by doing the same in the next game. Williams came into the final having overcome a series of slow starts vs. opponents who'd failed to capitalize on it as Serena found her game and soon took control. Against the potentially overwhelming power game of the 20-year old, it would be a more difficult feat to overcome. But Serena *would* give her opponent the chance to grab. Osaka reached break point for the first time in the third game, converting it with a double-fault from Williams.

Consolidating the break, Osaka held for 3-1, then saw Williams' third DF make the score 30/30 in the next game. Forehand and backhand errors turned over the next two points to Osaka, who got the double break lead at 4-1. Osaka pulled out a laser-like forehand pass on the second point of game #6. Williams' down the line forehand winner was punctuated by a "Come on!" yell and, as commonly happens in the immediate shadow of such a circumstance, Serena did produce a spurt of greater play. A wide angled backhand and put-away volley got her a BP opportunity. Osaka saved it with an ace. She saved her 18th consecutive BP at this slam a few moments later, and held for the 22nd straight time to lead 5-1.



Serving for the set at 5-2, Osaka's big serve up the middle caused Williams to fly a forehand, giving her SP at 40/15. On her next serve, the youngster fired a body serve directly at Serena, who could only *try* to fight it off, without any real chance to get it back over the net and in the court. Osaka took the set 6-2.

While Serena's career record in slams after dropping the 1st set was 39-36, she hadn't staged such a comeback in a major final since the 2005 Australian Open (vs. Lindsay Davenport), having lost the last five such matches.

Early in the 2nd set, after Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou was given a warning for coaching from the stands, Serena seemed to be infused with a dose of outright contempt at the thought of it, telling the umpire that *no* coaching was going on (it was, at least on Mouratoglou's end of things) and that she "doesn't cheat," and would "rather lose" than do so. Williams' opponent tried her best to ignore the intense anger rising up on the other side of the net, and she wasn't shaken by it. Osaka held for the 24th consecutive time at this U.S. Open. Williams saved a BP in the following game and held for 2-1, then opened game #4 with a big return winner and proceeded to carve out an opportunity to get back into the set.



Osaka saved her 19th consecutive BP with a winner to end a 19-shot rally, then saved two more (one w/ an ace). On her fourth BP chance in the game, Williams got the break via a backhand error from Osaka, taking a 3-1 lead. But rather than use the moment on which to build the foundation for a comeback, Serena's own serve let her down. Up 30/15, she had back-to-back DF to fall down BP. A backhand error gave the break back to Osaka, and Williams crushed a racket in anger and frustration, earning herself a second code violation and a point penalty (the second step following the coaching infraction).




When she learned of the penalty, rather than accept it and go on, Williams berated chair umpire Carlos Ramos, demanding "an apology" for the first violation earlier in the set, flashing an anger similar to, though not on the level of, her verbal assault and threats against a lineswoman in the '09 Open final after a foot fault call.



With her power pushing Serena deep behind the baseline, Osaka went up 40/love and held with an ace for 3-3. After Williams' ace put her up 30/15 in game #7, a forehand error brought Osaka back into the game. A big return into the corner gave her a BP, and her passing shot took the game for a break lead at 4-3.



During the changeover, Williams, being beaten to the punch at nearly every turn between the lines by her opponent, again turned her full attention to Ramos, refusing to let go of the earlier (actual) coaching violation and later point penalty (after actually breaking a racket), continuing to blast the umpire with heated accusations that included calling him a "thief" who "stole a point" from her (essentially, calling an official she later admitted she'd had no prior issues with a "cheat" after being so angry after alleging that the the insinuation was being pointed her way earlier).

It was the straw that broke the camel's (and nearly the match's) back, and Ramos issued a third code violation for verbal abuse, resulting in a full game penalty (as the rules state) that took the game out of a serving Osaka's hands and put her up 5-3. Once Williams got wind of the (new, or newly elevated) situation, she exploded, as expected. She called out the tournament referee -- though for what it's unknown, since everything played out pretty much according to the book, whether she chose to acknowledge as much or not -- and ranted about being treated "unfairly," commenting about men's players saying worse without being penalized (she was right on the latter assertion, though maybe not when they do it with two code violations already in the book). All in all, it was a bad look. One, honestly, not seen on Ashe since, well, probably the last time Williams was involved in another ugly incident there.



With the dark buzz of the situation still hovering in the air, barely under the surface where Serena was concerned, and alive in the din of discussion traveling around the stadium, Williams held serve at love.

Finally, Osaka had the chance to serve out the match at 5-4, while all eyes (and cameras) were still on Williams. Again, the newcomer didn't blink and/or emotionally implode as her more experienced idol (and, on this day, opponent) had earlier. She fired a big serve up the middle to get within two points of the title at 30/15. An ice-cold ace -- the kind Williams has blasted under similar circumstances in the past -- gave her her first MP. After Williams saved it with a down the line winner, Osaka got off another big wide serve which Williams could only struggle to just get a racket on, ending the 6-2/6-4 contest and making the 20-year old Japan's first grand slam singles champion ever.

Suddenly, it's a whole new world.



Osaka had six aces on the day (Williams had 6 DF), and own 73% of her first serves. She converted four of five BP chances, while denying Serena five of six (making it 18-of-19 here and in her SF win over Keys).



Osaka, tearful but stunned and unsure of the moment with so much calamity still in the air, found her way to her players box, where she received hugs from the likes of Big Sascha and her father (her dad never watches her matches, and would have to get his reward later). While the stage for the post-match ceremony was being set up, Osaka hid her face under a towel, while Serena watched it all a short distance away with a scowl on her face. Or, at the very least, the general look of a very perturbed individual as she tried to prepare herself for the rest of the program (a comment on this @JJlovesTennis tweet said she looks "confident," though I'm not sure I'd use that word to describe that expression).



What followed was maybe the most surreal trophy presentation in grand slam history. The usual act of singling out the champ umpire was not followed (be thankful for that small favor), and the crowd (mostly uninformed of the progression of the rules violations throughout, then confused and angered when the penalties were enforced) choose in the aftermath to boo anyone and everyone with a microphone as if *they* had anything to do with it (though not Serena, who bore as much or more responsibility than anyone, it should be noted).

Finally, Williams remembered who she is, and spoke up to defuse the situation, calling for an end to the boos so that Osaka would not have her moment spoiled.



It worked, up to a point, and at least avoided a truly wretched embarrassment to play out.

Still, Osaka seemed as sorry for winning as she was excited as she should have been for having done so. That it all happened against her idol, too, added another layer of unfortunate coincidence.



History will soon sort out this night, with varying results. Osaka will remain a winner, while the arguments will persist, with no one being convinced of anything other than their own personal (sometimes overly emotional) response in the heat of the moment, just who was right or wrong when it comes to everything that happened that *didn't* involved the superior play of the young Japanese star.

But, again, that's all that matters here.

After a period of time in which flags warning of its impending arrival were flown, the Great Wave of Osaka arrived on this day on the New York shore. It's impact will surely be felt elsewhere, far and wide.

Before Indian Wells, Osaka had the potential to have it all. Before this U.S. Open, she had it all except for one of the sport's big prizes. Now she's got a slam crown.

Oh, my. What will she seek next?

Whatever it is... it can't help but be easier than this turned out to be.




Postscript...

First off, as far as the chaos that overtook the 2nd set (then spilled over into the trophy presentation until Williams recognized that Osaka was being turned into an unwitting victim of everyone involved and reminded the crowd that she should be honored) goes, it was a perfect storm that managed to (and will continue to do so, at least for a while) overwhelm one of the best coming out parties the sport has witnessed in decades (joining that of Latvian Thunder just last year). Whether or not Serena's eleventh hour moment of stateswoman-like composure worked (in the moment, or as a salve for all the rest) is open up question. The boos stopped, but there was a somber undertone to everything that played out, and Osaka never really seemed able or willing to enjoy the moment as she should have felt free to do.

It just never should have happened this way.

But no matter how much some will want to pile onto Ramos, he does not and should not bear all the responsibility. The whole incident involved a series of contributing factors from the Williams box, originally, and then later Serena herself (even before the continued berating during the changeover, by crushing her racket in anger after giving away the break she'd just earned minutes earlier) that were indeed legitimate violations, at least had this been a "normal, everyday" match rather than a grand slam final.

I suppose that last qualifier, in the eyes of many, makes *all* the difference when assigning "blame." But, emotions removed from the moment, things actually played out the way they *should have*, and would *all* the time in a perfect tennis world. Granted, that world doesn't exist, and all on and off court decisions are influenced by and seen against the backdrop of all that has come before, including the longtime slights both perceived and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. But still. How would giving one player a "pass" on her actions during this match been any less bad than a situation in which a player (male or otherwise) wasn't punished as *they* should have been in another? Are there going to be reasonable gameday rules of tennis etiquette in this sport or not? We've already seen this year a player (on the WTA tour) destroy a portion of an umpiring chair with her racket at the conclusion of a match in a fit of anger over a call, yet be given just a token slap on the wrist rather than the suspension she rightly deserved. At some point, the written rules need to be enforced, or not (and subsequently rewritten). Make a choice and live with it.

The fact is, Mouratoglou admitted after the match that he *was* trying to send Serena a signal, meaning the original violation had legs as far as the rules are concerned, and it didn't matter that Williams didn't see it, nor if there was any belief she'd have accepted it if she had. And Patrick's defense that "Sascha was doing it, too" isn't really much of one, nor is the notion that it "happens all the time." If one is going to hold up oneself as being above reproach, as Williams did where the potential coaching signal was concerned, then having Mouratoglou essentially not do the same sort of thing on his part kind of punches a hole in the notion of being owed an apology for what Ramos actually *did* see with his own eyes.

Of course, the assigned violation, rightly enforced or wrongly not overlooked, *should* have been the end of it, forgotten and then denied in full with an annoyed tone of voice after the match. Problem is, Serena seemed to view the penalty as an accusation against *her*, which it was not. It was against Mouratoglou. It wasn't an affront, it was a recognition of a violation -- whether it SHOULD be is another discussion entirely, as I noted during the tournament that once the WTA allowed on-court coaching the proverbial toothpaste was out of the tube, thus rendering the anti-coaching rules nonsensical -- that Patrick has since owned up to.

On the same front, the notion that men's players have said worse and not been penalized accordingly, no matter how true it is, bears just as little weight in the specific picture of what happened here. Ramos wasn't umpiring one of those matches, just this one. Those other incidents should be penalized, as well, and just because they *weren't* doesn't mean that this one should be given a "mulligan," too... especially since it occurred following *two* code violations in a known officiating process which, by the time the game penalty is assessed, has seen a significant shift in responsibility onto the shoulders of the player to know the jeopardy he/she is in if they're going to accuse a chair umpire of, say, being a "thief" who "stole" a point from them, and demand an apology for a (technically *correct*) code violation many games earlier that was against their *coach*, not them in an attempt to impugn their honor. Nor do I believe, as some have, that it's incumbent upon the chair umpire to explain the code violation rules to a player who has been a professional for two decades. Could they? Of course. Is it required? Hardly.

That said, could (and maybe should) it have all been handled differently? Well, uh, of course.

As we've seen in other sports, there are times when an official should essentially "swallow the whistle" and recognize that, under the pressurized circumstances of such a big event, that it's probably best to err on the side of discretion, and *not* pile on violations unless it is absolutely necessary. Ramos *could* have given Williams a "soft warning," but he by no means *had* to. How he did handle things turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, and he might have recognized before the game penalty that it'd be less potentially messy to do nothing than impress the rules upon a moment in the match where Osaka *seemed* on her way to the win, but not with so *big* a lead that the tide couldn't be turned in a single game. She was serving up a break at 4-3, remember, and while the game penalty didn't result in a break back (just an Osaka hold, which may have happened anyway), it did sap the "good" drama from the moment, and injected needless controversy into the mix instead.

In the end, we need to eradicate this whole incident from out collective memory so that the focus is where it should be (most will, but some, I'm sure, will refuse to do so), Ramos was within his right to do everything he did. And Serena (and Mouratoglou) bear just as much responsibility for the whole thing. The chair umpire is there to officiate the match, not provide some form of professional day care and assign various actors to the corner for a "time out" until they cool down.

Responsibility is a two-way road. Today wasn't one of Williams' finest days. It shouldn't change how anyone feels about Serena, admittedly one of the greatest (and complicated) champions of all times, but it is what it is. She's still Serena, for all the miraculous notions and ideas that such a simple statement can spark in the heart and mind's eye. But she's also human, and not infallible or immune to legitimate criticism.

While one enjoys smelling a rose, one must also be mindful of its thorns. They're natural, too.



=DAY 13 NOTES=
...the first champions of this U.S. Open were crowned earlier in the day, as Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Jamie Murray (who won the '17 title with Martina Hingis) defeated Alicja Rosolska & Nikola Mektic in the mixee final, 2-6/6-3 (11-9).



It's Mattek-Sands' first title of any kind since her knee injury at last year's Wimbledon. It's her eighth overall slam crown, and third in MX. Just as in women's doubles, BMS is now three-quarters of the way to a Career Slam. She needs a Wimbledon crown in both WD and MX to complete the sweep in both disciplines.

...the wheelchair singles final was set, as #1 Diede de Groot defeated Sabine Ellerbrock 6-0/6-3, and #2 Yui Kamiji won out over Kgothatso Montjane 6-1/6-0 (after double-bageling her QF opponent yesterday). They'll add another chapter in their rivalry tomorrow with their fourth slam singles final meeting in the last five majors. de Groot is playing in her sixth straight major singles final, and needs a U.S. singles crown to keep alive her chances of having clear sailing toward next year's Roland Garros, where she could potentially become the first WC player to ever win all four singles and all four doubles titles in slam competition by winning the AO doubles and RG singles. Kamiji needs only a Wimbledon singles title to be eight-for-eight.

Top seeded de Groot & Kamiji combined later in the day for the women's doubles championship, defeating #2 Buis/van Koot 6-3/6-4. It's the third slam win this year for both, as they combined to win at SW19, while Kamiji won the AO with Marjolein Buis and de Groot took the RG title with Aniek van Koot.

...Pastry Clara Burel (#11 seed) advanced to her second '18 junior slam final, as the AO runner-up defeated #4 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, 7-5/1-6/7-6(3). She'll face #3 Wang Xinyu, who knocked off qualifier Dasha Lopatetskaya, 6-1/5-7/6-3.



If she wins, Wang will become the first Chinese girl to win a slam singles crown. Burel is looking to become the first French junior to do so since 2009 (K.Mladenovic - '09 RG).




LIKE ON DAY 13: The calm in the middle of the storm...



LIKE ON DAY 13: The warnings were legit...





=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #17 Serena Williams/USA 6-2/6-4

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) def. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO) 2-6/6-3 [11-9]

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#3 Wang Xiyu/CHN vs. #11 Clara Burel/FRA

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Gauff/McnNally (USA/USA) vs. Baptiste/Hewitt (USA/USA)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 de Groot/Kamiji (NED/JPN) def. #2 Buis/van Koot (NED/NED) 6-3/6-4





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**FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT U.S. OPEN**
[Open Era]
1968 Virginia Wade, GBR
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN

**U.S. OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE**
9...SERENA WILLIAMS (6-3)
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
2...Victoria Azarenka (0-2)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-1)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (0-2)
1...NAOMI OSAKA (1-0)
1...Maria Sharapova (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens (1-0)
1...Samantha Stosur (1-0)
1...Jelena Jankovic (0-1)
1...Angelique Kerber (1-0)
1...Madison Keys (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova (0-1)
1...Vera Zvonareva (0-1)

**LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA**
Unseeded/Wild Card - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2009)
Unseeded - Sloane Stephens, USA (2017)
#26 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (2015)
#20 - NAOMI OSAKA, JPN (2018)
#9 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2011)
#9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2004)
#7 - Serena Williams, USA (1999)
#6 - Virginia Wade, GBR (1968)

**BIGGEST AGE DIFFERENCE IN SLAM FINAL**
17y, 45d - Seles (17) d. Navratilova (34) = '91 U.S.
16y, 20d - OSAKA (20) d. S.WILLIAMS (36) = '18 U.S.
15y, 180d - Martinez (22) d. Navratilova (37) = '94 WI
14y, 175d - Graf (18) d. Evert (33) = '88 AO
13y, 113d - Muguruza (23) d. V.Williams (37) = 17 WI

**U.S. OPEN "COMEBACK" WINNERS**
2007 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2008 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
2012 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2015 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
[2018]
AO: Angelique Kerber, GER
RG: Maria Sharapova, RUS
WI: Serena Williams, USA
US: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA

**U.S. OPEN "KIMIKO CUP" VETERAN WINNERS**
2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams, USA
2018 Serena Williams, USA
[2018]
AO: Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
RG: Latisha Chan, TPE
WI: Angelique Kerber, GER
US: Serena Williams, USA

**RECENT U.S. OPEN MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
1998 Serena Williams/Max Mirnyi, USA/BLR
1999 Ai Sugiyama/Mahesh Bhupathi, JPN/IND
2000 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario/Jared Palmer, ESP/USA
2001 Rennae Stubbs/Todd Woodbridge, AUS/AUS
2002 Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan, USA/USA
2003 Katarina Srebotnik/Bob Bryan, SLO/USA
2004 Vera Zvonareva/Bob Bryan, RUS/USA
2005 Daniela Hantuchova/Mahesh Bhupathi, SVK/IND
2006 Martina Navratilova/Bob Bryan, USA/USA
2007 Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi, BLR/BLR
2008 Cara Black/Leander Paes, ZIM/IND
2009 Carly Gullickson/Travis Parrott, USA/USA
2010 Liezel Huber/Bob Bryan, USA/USA
2011 Melanie Oudin/Jack Sock, USA/USA
2012 Ekaterina Makarova/Bruno Soares, RUS/BRA
2013 Andrea Hlavackova/Max Mirnyi, CZE/BLR
2014 Sania Mirza/Bruno Soares, IND/BRA
2015 Martina Hingis/Leander Paes, SUI/IND
2016 Laura Siegemund/Mate Pavic, GER/CRO
2017 Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
2018 Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jamie Murray, USA/GBR
[2018]
AO: Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic, CAN/CRO
RG: Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig, TPE/CRO
WI: Nicole Melichar & Alexander Peya, USA/AUT
US: Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Jamie Murray, USA/GBR

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

*U.S. OPEN WHEELCHAIR WINNERS*
[doubles]
2005 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2006 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2007 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 --
2009 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 --
2013 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 --
2017 Marjolein Buis & Diede de Groot, NED/NED
2018 Diede de Groot & Yui Kamiji, NED/JPN

*RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - since 2017*
2017 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED
2017 RG - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
2017 WI - Diede de Groot/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 AO - #2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2018 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 WI - #1 Diede de Groot/NEd def. Aniek van Koot/NED
2018 US - #1 de Groot vs. #2 Kamiji



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):4th Rd. - #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN d. #26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-3/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:2nd Rd. - (Q) Karlina Muchova/CZE def. #12 Garbine Muguruza/ESP 3-6/6-4/6-4
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY:#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN and #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT (first-time slam finalist and semifinalist)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:#17 Serena Williams/USA (in final)
COMEBACK PLAYER:Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):#17 Serena Williams/USA
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos/Mladnevic, Barty/Vandeweghe
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING:Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (ended Sharapova's undefeated night streak)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR




All for Day 13. More tomorrow.
↧

US.14 - I Know What You Did This Summer

September 9, 2018, 5:20 pm
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The U.S. Open is over, so who were the stars of the summer?


1. Naomi Osaka, JPN: She.Has.Arrived.
2. Simona Halep, ROU: Her early U.S. Open exit notwithstanding, Simona had a superior hard court summer, coming within a MP of pulling off the first-ever back-to-back sweep of Montreal and Cincinnati.
3. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR: Osaka's city exploits, and victory over *her* in the Round of 16, doesn't mean that the Belarusian wasn't still the breakout star of the North American summer
4. Kiki Bertens, NED: Does a "clay court specialist" win the singles title in Cincinnati? I didn't think so.
5. Anastasija Sevastova, LAT: the Bucharest champ and first-time slam semifinalist truly does love NYC
6. Serena Williams, USA: #24 will have to wait until '19.
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS: Don't count Sveta (the '18 D.C. champ) out just yet.
8. Olga Danilovic, SRB: in Moscow, the 17-year old Serb became the first ever lucky loser to win a tour singles title
9. Ash Barty/CoCo Vandweghe, AUS/USA: your 2018 U.S. Open women's doubles champions
10. Wang Qiang, CHN: the Nanchang champ also defended her Asian Games Gold medal


RISERS: Alize Cornet/FRA, Madison Keys/USA and Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU
SURPRISES: Zheng Saisai/CHN and Petra Martic/CRO
VETERANS: Lesia Tsurenko/UKR, Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP and Kaia Kanepi/EST
COMEBACKS: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA, Patty Schnyder/SUI and Allie Kiick/USA
FRESH FACES: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE, Karolina Muchova/CZE and Maria Sakkari/GRE
JUNIOR STARS: Wang Xiyu/CHN, Clara Burel/FRA and Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR
DOUBLES: Demi Schuurs/NED and Latisha Chan/TPE
ITF: Fernanda Brito/CHI, Wang Xinyu/CHN and Iga Swiatek/POL
FED CUP: Charlotte Roemer/ECU
WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
DOWN: Elina Svitolina/UKR and Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS: Sonya Kenin/USA, Claire Liu/USA and Anastasia Potapova/RUS

1. Montreal Final - Simona Halep def. Sloane Stephens
...7-6(6)/3-6/6-4. Halep and Stephens came together for another classic final, and yet another Match of the Year contender. Halep led 4-1 in the 1st, but as both players jumped on the poor second serves of their opponents things got tight rather quickly. Halep served for the set at 5-4, but soon had to hold at 5-6 just to reach a TB. She saved a pair of SP to get there, then quickly fell behind 4-0. After getting one mini-break back, the Romanian DF'd to fall into a 5-1 hole. Back-to-back errors from the serving Stephens turned a 5-2 lead into a suddenly-close 5-4. Another Halep DF gave Stephens two more SP, but she failed to convert either, with her fourth of the set going away via a net cord shot that sailed beyond the baseline. Halep won a 20-shot rally with a backhand winner into the corner to reach her first SP, which she got with a Stephens return error to win 8-6.



Up 4-2 in the 2nd, Stephens saved two BP and forced a 3rd set when she converted on her fourth SP (after being 0-for-7 in the match).
Halep led 2-0 in the 3rd, but Stephens got back to even at 2-2, only to see Halep break to reclaim the lead as the two continued to trade off breaks of serve. Serving at 5-3, Halep DF'd on MP, and saw Stephens save two more on her own serve in game #9. Finally, serving for the match at 5-4, Halep fired an ace up the "T" to secure the title.
===============================================
2. Cincinnati Final - Kiki Bertens def. Simona Halep
...2-6/7-6(6)/6-2. I think Halep is going to have 70% of the nominees for Match of the Year. This won't likely be a contender for #1, but it was still a great final. Halep seemed ready to embrace the history of becoming the first Canada/Cincy back-to-back champ, but Bertens had other thoughts. The Dutch woman led the 2nd set 4-1, but once the world #1 battled her way back, saved a SP at 5-4 and had a MP at 6-5 in the TB, Halep's first Cincinnati title appeared destined to be hers. But Bertens threw caution to the wind, upped her aggression, and stole the TB 8-6. With Simona frustrated and tiring in the heat after two LONG weeks, Kiki seized her opportunity and turned up the heat just a little more. After Halep broke serve in game #3 after falling behind 2-0, Bertens' immediate break back a game later showed that she wasn't going to wilt. She ended things with an ace. Of course... because that's what a good hard court player liki Kiki does, right?


===============================================
3. Moscow Final - Olga Danilovic def. Anastasia Potapova
...7-5/6-7(1)/6-4. Potapova was 2-0 ('16 AO & Roehampton) in their junior head-to-head, winning a pair of straight sets matches. But this match-up of two 17-year olds was a back-and-forth affair. Lucky loser Danilovic came back from 4-1 down (w/ points for 5-1) to win the 1st at 7-5, then DF'd on MP when serving for the title at 5-4 in the 2nd. In the 3rd, it was Potapova who lost a break lead as the Serb's aggression and big groundstrokes finally dragged her across the match's finish line first... and into tour history.

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Feels.

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

1. Washington Final - Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Donna Vekic
...4-6/7-6(7)/6-2. Vekic led 6-4/5-4 and held two MP on Kuznetsova's serve, then had two more in the 2nd set TB. Emotionally crushed, she quickly fell down 5-0 in the 3rd on her way to the sort of predictable finish that often accompanies such a missed opportunity.

===============================================
2. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...7-6(9)/4-6/7-5. The Russian had the Romanian by the tail, but she hollered and she let her go. After playing just seven games on Day 1 of this one (Pavs 4-3), the bulk of the contest took place on Day 2. There, Pavlyuchenkova dropped the 1st set despite holding SP (Halep won it on SP #4), and led 4-2 in the 3rd, as well. Despite suffering from foot blisters that would plague her all week, Halep prevailed to run her career record vs. the Hordette to 8-0 and went on to win the title.
===============================================
3t. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Ayrna Sabalenka def. Caroline Wozniacki
...5-7/6-2/7-6(4). A week earlier, Sabalenka fell in the opening round of San Jose qualifying to #258 Maria Sanchez. In Quebec, she saved 3 MP vs. #2 Wozniacki and avenged her loss to the Dane in the Eastbourne final, firing 15 aces and 64 winners en route to the biggest win of her career in the 2:31 contest.

Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...2-6/6-4/7-5. After previously this summer falling to the Belarusian in Eastbourne despite holding a 4-1 3rd set lead, Pliskova failed to close her out in Cincy even after holding two MP at 5-4 in the 3rd. A game later, the Czech DF'd on BP and Sabalenka served out yet another comeback win.

Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Caroline Garcia
...6-3/3-6/7-5. Garcia served at 5-4 and had a MP, but couldn't stop Sabalenka from recording her third win from MP down in back-to-back events. She swept the final four games.
===============================================

1. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Karolina Muchova def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/6-4/6-4. In a match that ended after 1 a.m. on Armstrong, #202-ranked Czech qualifier picked up her first slam MD win in just her second tour-level MD event. Muguruza led 2-0 in the 3rd, and had a BP for 3-0.
===============================================
2. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Kaia Kanepi def. Simona Halep
...6-2/6-4. Sure, veteran Kanepi has been a second week slam player in the past, including a quarterfinalist in NYC in '17, but her win over Montreal champ/Cincinnati finalist Halep (she'd been a MP away from becoming the first to ever win the events in back-to-back weeks) amde the Romanian the first world #1 to exit the Open in the 1st Round in the Open era.
===============================================
3. U.S. Open 3rd Rd. - Marketa Vondrousova def. Kiki Bertens
...7-6(4)/2-6/7-6(1). The Cincinnati title-winning Dutch woman was bested by the world #103, 19-year old Czech lefty Vondrousova, who perfectly played a pair of TB to reach her first slam Round of 16. Bertens serving for the 1st set at 5-4, and led the 3rd at 4-2.
===============================================




=DAY 14 NOTES=
...well, another women's slam title was earned on Sunday (by TWO players), and it happened without any needless drama. Imagine that. In fact, it had *actual* drama. Tennis drama, that is.

With Timea Babos & Kiki Mladenovic looking to add a U.S. Open crown to their '18 AO win (and the Pastry get three-quarters of the way to a Career WD Slam), Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe saved two 2nd set MP, won a TB to force a 3rd, then won it in *another* TB on their own third MP to win 3-6/7-6(2)/7-6(6). Mladenovic's unfortunate DF on MP prevented the sort of triumphant finish one might have wished, but beggars can't be choosers at this point, right?



It's the first slam title for both. Barty had been 0-4 in previous slam WD finals with now-retired partner Casey Dellaqua.



...#1 Diede de Groot won her first U.S. Open women's wheelchair singles crown, defeating #2 Yui Kamiji 6-2/6-3 one day after they combined to take the doubles. It's the 21-year old Dutch woman's fourth career slam singles win, tying Jiske Griffioen for third all-time behind Esther Vergeer (25) and Kamiji (6). It's de Groot's sixth win in seven meetings against Kamiji over the last year, after having lost eleven of the first thirteen matches in their head-to-head series.



It keeps alive de Groot's drive to become the first WC player win all eight slam singles and doubles titles. She needs the AO doubles and RG singles, while Kamiji is just a Wimbledon singles crown short.

...Wang Xiyu became the first Chinese girl (mainland, so no TPE -- Liang En-shuo became the first Taiwanese to do it in Melbourne in January) to be crowned a slam junior singles champ, defeating Pastry Clara Burel 7-6(4)/6-2 in Sunday's final. At Wimbledon this summer, Wang and Wang Xinyu became the first all-CHN duo to win a slam GD crown.



The Li Na Generation has arrived. And it likely isn't going anywhere, nor thinning out anytime soon.

Coco Gauff & Caty McNally (or "McCoco") won the doubles, defeating the fellow all-Bannerette pair of Hailey Baptiste & Dayana Hewitt 6-3/6-2 in the final. McNally also won the RG GD title with Iga Swiatek earlier this year.



...Petra Martic defeated Mona Barthel in the WTA 125 Challenger final in Chicago, winning 6-4/6-1. It's the 27-year old Croat's biggest career title. Barthel teamed with Kristyna Pilskova to win the doubles.



...meanwhile, Wimbledon junior champ Iga Swiatek won yet another pro level challenger title, taking the $60K event in Montreux, Switzerland with a 2 & 2 win over Belgian Waffle Kimberley Zimmermann. The 17-year old Pole is 4-0 in ITF finals in 2018, and 7-0 in her career.

19-year old Rebeka Masarova won her maiden pro title, as well as her since ending her representation of SUI earlier this year. The Basel-born Spaniard, the '16 RG girls champ, picked up her first ITF singles title in Badenweiler, Germany with a 6-2/7-5 win over, of course, Swiss player Nina Stadler.

Masarova was playing in her first singles event of the year, having missed nearly the entire season after undergoing knee surgery following a slip on a wet court during a practice session in January.




LIKE ON DAY 14:



LIKE ON DAY 14: On the Night After, and The Day After...




LIKE ON DAY 14: Match-dot-Laura



LIKE ON DAY 14: Petko at 31 25



LIKE ON DAY 14:




DISLIKE ON DAY 14: That it looked like there were about 10-20 people in the stands (at least viewable from the camera angle) for the de Groot/Kamiji wheelchair singles final, held (as usual) at the same time as the men's final. Why not switch things up for once and have it *open* a court schedule on the final Sunday, rather than close one out in the shadow (and humm) of the final event on Ashe?

LIKE ON DAY 14:



DISLIKE ON DAY 14: Any further discussion of you-know-what.

WELL... ON DAY 14: This doesn't count...




LIKE ON DAY 14: Finally, we get to see Naomi's dad...



LIKE ON DAY 14:



SUGGESTION ON DAY 14: We call him/her (it doesn't matter) "Naomi."



Hopefully, he/she will remember, you know, once he/she shockingly transforms into a full-fledged bird of prey and his/her pick of the lot of us all.




=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #17 Serena Williams/USA 6-2/6-4

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) def. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) 3-6/7-6(2)/7-6(6)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) def. Rosolska/Mektic (POL/CRO) 2-6/6-3 [11-9]

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#3 Wang Xiyu/CHN def. #11 Clara Burel/FRA 7-6(4)/6-2

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Gauff/McNally (USA/USA) def. Baptiste/Hewitt (USA/USA) 6-3/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 6-3/6-4

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 de Groot/Kamiji (NED/JPN) def. #2 Buis/van Koot (NED/NED) 6-3/6-4














**RECENT U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2005 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2006 Nathalie Dechy & Vera Zvonareva, FRA/RUS
2007 Nathalie Dechy & Dinara Safina, FRA/RUS
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
2009 Serena & Venus Williams, USA/USA
2010 Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
2011 Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2014 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2015 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2016 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2017 Latisha Chan & Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
2018 Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
[2018]
AO: Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
RG: Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
WI: Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
US: Ash Barty / CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA

**U.S. OPEN "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS**
2006 Martina Navratilova, USA
2007 Nathalie Dechy, FRA
2008 Cara Black, ZIM
2009 Carly Gullickson, USA
2010 Liezel Huber, USA
2011 Melanie Oudin, USA
2012 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2013 Andrea Hlavackova, CZE
2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR (WC)
2015 Martina Hingis, SUI
2016 Laura Siegemund, GER
2017 Martina Hingis, SUI
2018 Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
[2018]
AO: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
RG: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
WI: Diede de Groot/Yui Kamiji, NED/JPN (WC)
US: Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA

**RECENT GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS**
[2016]
AO: Vera Lapko, BLR
RG: Rebeka Masarova, SUI
WI: Anastasia Potapova, RUS
US: Kayla Day, USA
[2017]
AO: Marta Kostyuk, UKR
RG: Whitney Osuigwe, USA
WI: Claire Liu, USA
US: Amanda Anisimova, USA
[2018]
AO: Liang En-shuo, TPE
RG: Coco Gauff, USA
WI: Iga Swiatek, POL
US: Wang Xiyu, CHN

**RECENT U.S. OPEN GIRLS FINALS**
2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR def. Alexa Glatch/USA
2006 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS def. Tamira Paszek/AUT
2007 Kristina Kucova/SVK def. Ula Radwanska/POL
2008 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA def. Gabriela Paz/VEN
2009 Heather Watson/GBR def. Yana Buchina/RUS
2010 Dasha Gavrilova/RUS def. Yulia Putintseva/RUS
2011 Grace Min/USA def. Caroline Garcia/FRA
2012 Samantha Crawford/USA def. Anett Kontaveit/EST
2013 Ana Konjuh/CRO def. Tornado Alicia Black/USA
2014 Marie Bouzkova/CZE def. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR
2015 Dalma Galfi/HUN def. Sonya Kenin/USA
2016 Kayla Day/USA def. Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
2017 Amanda Anisimova/USA def. Coco Gauff/USA
2018 Wang Xiyu/CHN def. Clara Burel/FRA

**ASIAN JUNIOR SLAM SINGLES FINALISTS*
1952 Wimbledon - Rita Davar, IND (RU)
1969 Roland Garros - Kazuko Sawamatsu, JPN (W)
1969 Wimbledon - Kazuko Sawamatsu, JPN (W)
1983 Wimbledon - Patricia Hy, HKG (RU)
1993 US Open - Yuka Yoshida, JPN (RU)
1994 Wimbledon - Jeon Mi-ra, KOR (RU)
1995 Wimbledon - Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA (RU)
1998 Australian Open - Wynne Prakusya, INA (RU)
1999 Wimbledon - Iroda Tulyagnova, UZB (W)
2002 Roland Garros - Angelique Widjaja, INA
2008 Wimbledon - Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, THA (RU)
2009 Wimbledon - Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, THA (W)
2010 Wimbledon - Sachie Ishizu, JPN (RU)
2018 Australian Open - Liang En-shuo, TPE (W)
2018 US Open - Wang Xiyu, CHN (W)
[champions from CHN]
2004 AO GD: Sun Sheng-nan
2014 WI GD: Ye Qiuyu
2018 AO GD: Wang Xinyu
2018 WI GD: Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu
2018 US GS: Wang Xiyu

**RECENT U.S. OPEN GIRLS DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2006 Mihaela Buzarnescu / Raluca Olaru, ROU/ROU
2007 Ksenia Milevskaya / Ula Radwanska, BLR/POL
2008 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn / Sandra Roma, THA/SWE
2009 Valeria Solovyeva / Maryna Zanevska, RUS/UKR
2010 Timea Babos / Sloane Stephens, HUN/USA
2011 Irina Khromacheva / Demi Schuurs, RUS/NED
2012 Gabby Andrews / Taylor Townsend, USA/USA
2013 Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2014 Ipek Soylu / Jil Teichmann, TUR/SUI
2015 Viktoria Kuzmova / Aleksandra Pospelova, SVK/RUS
2016 Jada Myii Hart / Ena Shibahara, USA/USA
2017 Olga Danilovic / Marta Kostyuk, SRB/UKR
2018 Coco Gauff / Caty McNally, USA/USA
[2018]
AO: Liang En-Shuo / Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN
RG: Caty McNally / Iga Swiatek, USA/POL
WI: Wang Xinyu / Wang Xiyu, CHN/CHN
US: Coco Gauff / Caty McNally, USA/USA

**U.S. OPEN WHEELCHAIR WINNERS**
[singles]
1991 Monique Kalkman, NED
1992 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1993 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1994 Monique Kalkman, NED
1995 Monique Kalkman, NED
1996 Maaike Smit, NED
1997 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
1998 Esther Vergeer, NED
1999 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2001 Sonja Peters, NED
2002 Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Maaike Smit, NED
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 --
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 --
2013 Aniek van Koot, NED
2014 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015 Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2016 --
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Diede de Groot, NED

**RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - since 2017**
2017 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Jiske Griffioen/NED
2017 RG - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. UN Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
2017 WI - UN Diede de Groot/NED def. UN Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 AO - #2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2018 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 WI - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. UN Aniek van Koot/NED
2018 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

**Kamiji vs. de Groot**
2018 US Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-3
2018 British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships Final - DE GROOT 6-2/3-6/3-6
2018 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2018 Roland Garros Final - KAMIJI 2-6/6-0/6-2
2018 Australian Open Final - DE GROOT 7-6(6)/6-4
-------------------------------------------------------------
2017 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2017 Open d'Amiens Hauts de France Final - DE GROOT 1-6/7-5/6-3
2017 US Open Final - KAMIJI 7-5/6-2
2017 US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships Final - KAMIJI 5-7/6-3/7-6(12)
2017 British Open WC Tennis Championships Final - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 BNP Paribas Open de France SF - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 Japan Open Final - KAMIJI 6-2/6-2
2017 Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open SF - KAMIJI 6-3/6-4
2017 Apia Int'l Sydney WC Tennis Open SF - DE GROOT 7-5/7-6(5)
-------------------------------------------------------------
2016 Paralympic Games Bronze - KAMIJI 6-3/6-3
2016 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - KAMIJI 6-3/7-6(4)
2016 Toyota Open Int'l de L'ile de Re SF - DE GROOT 4-6/7-5/1-0 ret.
-------------------------------------------------------------
2015 Sardinia Open QF - KAMIJI 6-1/6-1
2015 BNP Paribas Open de France QF - KAMIJI 6-2/6-4
2014 Swiss Open Starling Hotel Geneva 1st Rd. - KAMIJI 6-1/6-2
--
NOTES: Kamiji leads 12-8



TOP QUALIFIER:Genie Bouchard/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r):#13 Kiki Bertens/ NED
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F):#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH:Q1: #23 Marta Kostyuk/RUS def. Valentyna Ivakhnenko/RUS 4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4) (saved 6 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r):1st Rd. - #10 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Andrea Petkovic/GER 6-4/4-6/6-4
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF):4th Rd. - #20 Naomi Osaka/JPN d. #26 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-3/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.):WD Final - #13 Barty/Vandeweghe (AUS/USA) def. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) 3-6/7-6(2)/7-6(6) - saved 2 MP
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH:2nd Rd. - (Q) Karlina Muchova/CZE def. #12 Garbine Muguruza/ESP 3-6/6-4/6-4
=============================
FIRST VICTORY:(Q) Jil Teichmann/SUI (def. Jakupovic/SRB)
FIRST SEED OUT:#31 Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK (1st Rd. - Q.Wang/CHN; second con. FSO at major for Rybarikova)
UPSET QUEENS:Sweden
REVELATION LADIES:Belarus (four -- Azarenka, Lapko, Sabalenka, Sasnovich -- into 2nd Round of a slam for the first time ever)
NATION OF POOR SOULS:Switzerland (1-4 1st Rd.; Golubic double-bageled, Bacsinszky love 3rd set)
CRASH & BURN:#1 Simona Halep/ROU (lost 1st Rd. to Kanepi/EST; first #1 to lost 1st Rd. at U.S. Open in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK:Katerina Siniakova/CZE (1r: Kontaveit served for match at 5-4, 30/love in 3rd, Siniakova wins set 7-5, taking 12/14 points; 2r: Tomljanovic served for match at 6-5 in 3rd; opponent served for match in 1st and 2nd Rounds and saved MP)
IT ("Court"):(new) Louis Armstrong Stadium (four of top 5 women's seeds -- #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki, #4 Kerber, #5 Kvitova -- fall in first three rounds on the newly rebuilt #2 show court, as well as slam winner #12 Muguruza and summer stars #13 Bertens and #26 Sabalenka)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY:#20 Naomi Osaka/JPN and #19 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT (first-time slam finalist and semifinalist)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING:Karolina Muchova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING:Victoria Azarenka/BLR (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING:#17 Serena Williams/USA (in final)
COMEBACK PLAYER:Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP):#17 Serena Williams/USA
DOUBLES STARS:Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND:Kaia Kanepi/EST (new Armstrong Stadium premieres w/ Day 1 def. of #1 Halep)
LADY OF THE EVENING:Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (ended Sharapova's undefeated night streak)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT:Dasha Lopatetskaya/UKR




All for the U.S. Open. Whew!
↧
↧

Wk.37- Hsieh What?

September 16, 2018, 6:27 pm
$
0
0
Do you Hsieh Su-wei how Hsieh Su-wei Hsieh Su-wei's?

(or something like that)





*WEEK 37 CHAMPIONS*
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Hsieh Su-wei/TPE def. Amanda Anisimova/USA 6-2/6-2
D: Eri Hozumi/Zhang Shuai (JPN/CHN) d. Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN/JPN) 6-2/6-4
QUEBEC CITY, QUE CANADA (Int'l/Carpet)
S: Pauline Parmentier/FRA def. Jessica Pegula/USA 7-5/6-2
D: Asia Muhammad/Maria Sanchez (USA/USA) d. Darija Jurak/Xenia Knoll (CRO/SUI) 6-4/6-3



PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
...Hsieh has often been a marvel to watch, with her brand of angles, spins, sudden forehand winners and/or sneaking-into-the-net volleys serving to flummox, frustrate and sometimes even take down some of the biggest names in the sport, usually on the biggest stages available. In Melbourne and London this year, she reached her first slam Round of 16's since 2008, recording her two biggest career wins (#3 Muguruza/AO & #1 Halep/WI, a season after her first career Top 10 win at RG over Konta) along the way. One thing the 32-year old Taiwanese vet hadn't done in a while, though, was win a singles title. Well, she took care of that this weekend in Hiroshima.



After going three sets in her opening match against Polona Hercog, Hsieh warmed up her Tennis Sudoku skills as the week went on and she worked her way through the likes of Mandy Minella, Ajla Tomljanovic (who impressively *did* get a set off her in their first career meeting, though she only two two *games* in the next two) and Wang Qiang to reach her first tour-level singles final since 2012, when she won tour titles in Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou.

Once there, she tamed the highlight-worthy game of 17-year old Bannerette Amanda Anisimova, reaching deep into her bag of brilliant props and playing all her many shots en route to a 2 & 2 victory. Poor thing, AA really had no reason to have any idea of what to expect. On occasion, the teenager had to be content to simply enjoy a performance of Hsieh's Traveling Death-defying Roadshow of Tennis Sudoku from a front row seat.

Scene 1: The Dipsy-do and Volley too



To be cont'd...
===============================================
RISERS:Wang Qiang/CHN and Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS
...Wang has had quite the spring/summer. Since Strasbourg, the 26-year old has gone a combined 20-7 in singles. She recorded her first career Top 10 win at Roland Garros over Venus Williams, won her first tour-level singles title in Nanchang in July, successfully defended her Asian Games Gold medal in August, then pulled off her second '18 slam "First Seed Out" win (def. Rybarikova, after Venus had been the RG FSO) at the U.S. Open, and followed it up with another win (Begu) to reach her first slam 3rd Round. Last week in Hiroshima, she reached the semifinals with wins over Priscilla Hon, Luksika Kumkhum and Magda Linette. On Monday, Wang will be at a new career high rank of #41.



Tomljanovic's 2016 shoulder injury (and eventual surgery) has been an obstacle the Aussie (a Top 50 player in' 15) has been forced to overcome for much of the last two years. After ending '17 on a 12-4 run in a series of $80K/$100K & 125 Series events, as the '18 season has progressed, Tomljanovic has developed into a consistent performer as she's put her injury farther away in her rear view mirror. She reached her first tour singles final in three years this May on clay in Rabat (losing to Mertens), as well as two WTA 125 semis and, with this week's result in Hiroshima, four more tour-level QF on two additional surfaces (Mallorca/grass, Monterrey & San Jose/hard). Wins over Fiona Ferro and Zhu Lin highlighted this week, which ended with a three-set loss to eventual champ Hsieh Su-wei.


===============================================
SURPRISE:Jessica Pegula/USA
...24-year old Buffalo native Pegula has had one of those careers consistently dragged down by injuries. She reached her career high (#123) in 2013. In 2015, she qualified for her only career slam MD, and notched a 1st Round U.S. Open win over Alison Van Uytvanck before pushing Dominika Cibulkova to three sets a round later. In 2016, she reached her first career tour-level semifinal in Washington. But she also missed seven months due to injury last season, and came into Quebec City having not played a WTA MD match since losing in the 1st Round (Grace Min in three) in this same event last September. After beginning the year ranked outside the Top 600, Pegula has managed to stay healthy enough over the course of '18 to play nearly sixty singles matches, reaching two challenger finals and posting four more SF results on the ITF circuit. Ranked #227 last week, she qualified and ran off MD wins over Kristyna Pliskova, Ons Jabeur, Petra Martic and Sonya Kenin to reach her first career final. She fell in straights to Pauline Parmentier, and is still seeking her maiden pro singles crown on *any* level (she's 0-5 in ITF finals), but she'll climb 86 spots in the rankings on Monday and jump back into the Top 150 at #141. She's 41-17 in singles on the year.


===============================================
VETERANS:Pauline Parmentier/FRA and Zhang Shuai/CHN
...did anyone really see Parmentier coming in 2018?



While many thirtysomething players have had resurgent campaigns, that of the 32-year old Pastry has to count as quite possibly the most unexpected. When she won the career singles title #4 in Instanbul in April it came nine years and nine months after her *last* one in Bad Gastein in 2008. Well, she only had to wait five months to get #4, picking up the Quebec City trophy this week after sending Veronika Kudermetova, Christina McHale (7-5 3rd), Varvara Lepchenko, Heather Watson (7-6 3rd) and Jessica Pegula (in the final) packing.



Parmentier will move up 21 spots to #48 on Monday, within striking distance (approx. 200 pts.) of the career high (#40) she reached a decade ago in 2008.

In Hiroshima, Zhang added another pair of good results to what has been quite a good month or so. While she was the #1 singles seed in the event, the 29-year old enterered with just a combined 17-21 singles mark this season in WTA and challenger events. But work at the end of the summer showed that she was trending upward as the season reached its 4th Quarter. First she won four matches to reach the Asian Games singles final (taking the Silver after a loss vs. Wang Qiang), played into the U.S. Open semis in both WD (w/ Stosur) and MX (w/ Peers), and this week she reached her second '18 tour-level singles semi (w/ Prague) with wins over Magdalena Frech, Nao Hibino and defending champ Zarina Diyas. In doubles, she teamed with Eri Hozumi to grab her sixth tour-level WD crown, and her second of '18 (Istanbul).

Factoring in her Asian Games work with her three Hiroshima singles wins, Zhang has now finally jumped over .500 for the season (24-23).
===============================================
COMEBACKS:Rebecca Marino/CAN and Timea Bacsinszky/SUI
...Marino's long journey back from her depression-related retirement in 2013 finally made it's way around to the WTA-level event in her home nation of Canada this week. After winning her comeback's first four ITF singles titles over the course of '18, the Vancouver-born Marino, a tour singles finalist in Memphis back in 2011, recorded her first win of any kind in a WTA event since Week 1 of '13 (first MD win since October '11 in Luxembourg over Pavlyuchenkova) with her 6-2/6-2 victory over Tatjana Maria. An additional victory over Georgina Garcia Perez gave her her first WTA QF result since posting the same result in this very tournament in 2011, when she defeated countrywomen Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak before losing to Michaella "The Dutch Artist" Krajicek.



Meanwhile, since her wrist surgery last year, Bacsinszky has managed some doubles success (winning Saint Petersburg w/ Zvonareva in February, as well as reaching the Gstaad final and U.S. Open 3rd Rd.), but heading into this past week's $80K challenger in Biarritz, France she was 0-9 in singles. So, while the 29-year old didn't ultimately take the singles title, that she ran off four wins -- def. Zavatska, Bara, Sramkova and Ormaechea -- before falling in straights in the final to Tamara Korpatsch counts as something of a sudden downpour after a year-long drought. Bacsinszky's last singles victory was at last year's Wimbledon, her final tour event before her return in January.


===============================================
FRESH FACES:Amanda Anisimova/USA and Sonya Kenin/USA
...there are some Bannerettes in Generation PDQ, too. Teens Anisimova and Kenin put on separate shows on opposite sides of the world in Week 37.

In Hiroshima, just-turned-17 Anisimova (#134) made her way through qualifying (dropping 1 set in 3 matches), then impressively took down the likes of Jana Fett, Zheng Saisai, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and #1-seeded Zhang Shuai without dropping a set, reaching her first tour final, where she was (well, you know what Hsieh Su-wei can sometimes do to a big-hitters) taken out by a player fifteen years her senior. On Monday, when she jumps 39 spots to a new career high of #95, Anisimova will be the only player under 18 in the Top 100 (Moscow champ Olga Danilovic, also 17, will be just outside at #105), and the highest ranked player under 19 (just a few spots ahead of Dayana Yastremska).



Hmmm, it was just two years ago that Naomi Osaka reached *her* first tour final at around this time of the year, also in Japan.

In Quebec City, 19-year old Kenin reached her second career tour semifinal (w/ Mallorca) after notching wins over Mona Barthel, Franckie Abanda and Monica Puig. She lost in three sets to Jessica Pegula. Kenin reached the 3rd Round at the just-completed U.S. Open, defeating Madison Brengle and Maria Sakkari before losing to eventual quarterfinalist Karolina Pliskova, though she led the Czech 4-2 in both the 1st and 2nd sets.



At a new career high of #62 on Monday, Kenin will be the highest-ranked teenager on tour, slightly ahead of #66 Vera Lapko and #69 Marketa Vondrousova.
===============================================
DOWN:Lauren Davis/USA
...after ending 2017 at #50 (her sixth straight Top 100 season), Davis entered the week at #213. The diminutive Bannerette has fallen off the table since her 3rd Round loss in Melbourne to Simona Halep, a 3:45 match in which Davis held triple MP before ultimately losing a 15-13, 2:22 3rd set. Davis suffered through a 1-11 stretch after losing to Halep, and after going 1-1 in Quebec City qualifying (losing to Jessica Pegula) she's now just 4-15 overall in '18. Two of those wins (vs. Cepelova and Petkovic) came in the opening rounds of the AO, while only victories over Sara Sorribes Tormo (in a June $100K) and #491 Amanda Rodgers in the opening Q-round in Quebec have followed.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Tamara Korpatsch/GER
...Korpatsch's title run in the $80K Biarritz challenger was likely overshadowed by former Top 10 player and two-time slam semifinalist Bacsinszky's run to the final, but the result earned the 23-year German her seventh career ITF crown, and the biggest to date. She's won seven straight ITF finals (all on clay) dating back to 2015.


===============================================
JUNIOR STARS:Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN and Diana Shnaider/RUS
...a week after reaching the U.S. Open girls quarterfinals, 16-year old LAF made her tour-level MD debut in Quebec City, posting a 1st Round win over fellow Canadian Gaby Dabrowski, 6-3/7-5. Earlier this year, #13-ranked girl Fernandez reached the RG junior semis (wins over Osorio Serrano and Garland) and won a Grade A title in Brazil (def. Noel, Price and Tauson).



In the Grade 2 Smash Academy tournament, 14-year old Hordette Shnaider defeated fellow Russian Maria Bondarenko 0-6/6-4/6-3 in the event final. The unseeded teenager had defeated #1 seed Sophia Biolay (FRA) 3 & 3 in the QF, and improves to 29-3 in non-team event singles in '18. Shnaider will now be the youngest player ranked in the junior Top 100 this week, after winning G2, G3 and G4 titles in her six events this season. She's one of three teens born in 2004 or earlier ranked in the Top 500, with Coco Gauff and Linda Noskova, the latter who recently defeated Shnaider in the final of the European Junior Championship (14s).

Shnaider was the "polka dot bandana" girl from Russia's ITF World 14s title (w/ Erika Andreeva) performance last month.

02.06 Diana Shnaider - Tennis Europe Junior Masters 2017
===============================================
DOUBLES:Eri Hozumi/JPN and Asia Muhammad/Maria Sanchez, USA/USA
...in Hiroshima, Hozumi joined with Zhang Shuai to take the WD crown. As the #2 seeds, they defeated #3 Shuko Aoyama (the two-time defending champ) and Duan Yingying in the semis, then completed their no-sets-lost week with a 2 & 4 win in the final over #1-seed Miyu Kato & Makoto Ninomiya. Hozumi has a doubles history with both of her opponents in the final, reaching three tour finals (and a 125) while partnering Kato (2-1 in '16, and playing in the Auckland final this January), and reaching the Roland Garros championship match with Ninomiya this spring. It's Hozumi's second tour-level WD title, joining with the one she won in Katowice with Kato two seasons ago.



In Quebec City, Muhammad teamed with Sanchez to follow up their Chicago WTA 125 Series final run with an even better one this week. The all-Bannerette pair are the first all-U.S. duo to pick up a title on tour this season, and they did it while dropping just one set all week, a 10-7 3rd set TB over #3 Krawczyk/Olmos before winning 4 & 3 over #2 Jurak/Knoll in the final. Muhammad, in particular, has had something of a "second tier" all-level and discipline breakthrough season, picking up her third career tour-level WD title (the others were in '15 &'16) to go along with the $100K she won this summer in Ilkley (when she reached back-to-back $100K WD finals) and two other $60K's, while also winning a $25K singles crown (February) and winning the USTA U.S. Open Wild Card Playoff ahead of playing her second career slam MD singles match in Flushing Meadows a full ten years after she played her first there in '08.



Sanchez won her only previous WTA WD title in Auckland in 2014.
===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:Viktoria Lvova/RUS
...in the ITF 3 Series Madrid Fundacion Emilio Sanchez Vicario event in Spain, 19-year old Russian Lvova (WC #18) swept the singles and doubles titles. The #1 seed, she went three sets in her QF and SF matches, then defeated #2 seed Emmanuelle Morch (FRA) 6-3/6-2 in the final. Lvova and Donna Jansen took the doubles title, defeating Nalani Buob(SUI) & Morch in the final.

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








1. Quebec City Final - Pauline Parmentier def. Jessica Pegula
...7-5/6-2. Parmentier joins Serena Williams and Mihaela Buzarenscu (who played in one the day after the big 3-0h) as the only three 30+ multiple singles finalists in '18, while she's the only player 30-and-over to pick up a pair of titles (Kerber's first was when she was still 29).
===============================================
2. Hiroshima SF - Amanda Anisimova def. Zhang Shuai
...7-6(4)/7-5. Still 16 just two weeks ago, Anisimova tops Potapova (17y,4m) and Olga Danilovic (17y,6m) as the youngest singles finalist this season, and the youngest on tour since 2013 (D.Vekic-Birmingham).
===============================================
3. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Varvara Lepchenko def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/7-6(5). Sometimes you get Boom-Boom, sometimes you get Bye-Bye.
===============================================
4. Hiroshima 1st Rd. - Viktorija Golubic def. Misaki Doi
...0-6/6-3/7-6(1). On the other end of the Japanese tennis spectrum, Doi -- MP away from perhaps preventing Angie Kerber from becoming *Angie Kerber* at the 2016 AO -- has had a fit of troubles ever since. A Top 40 player as recently as '17, though she's had some ITF success of late ($100K and $25K titles and another $25K final), Doi's last WTA MD win came in May of last season. She had the chance to end that slide here, as she held three MP vs. the Swiss and twice served for the match. Unfortunately, it all ended in tears and defeat.
===============================================
5. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Christina McHale def. Dayana Yastremska
...2-6/6-2/7-6(1). McHale had lost six straight tour-level MD matches coming into the week, and 25 of 29 contests after losing the 1st set. But she ralled to defeat the young Ukrainian, who led 5-3 in the 3rd and served for the match.
===============================================
6. Quebec City 1st Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Lucie Safarova
...7-6(4)/3-6/7-5. Hmmm, I wonder who had a bet on this match...?




Hmmm...


===============================================
7. Hiroshima QF - Zarina Diyas def. Kateryna Kozlova
...6-7(3)/6-2/7-5. Defending champ Diyas never lost her serve in this three-hour battle, but broke Kozlova at 5-5 in the 3rd and waltzed off with the win. It may have taken much out of her, though, as she lost in straight sets to Zhang Shuai in the next round.
===============================================
8. $15K Cairo EGY Final - Charlotte Roemer def. Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz
...6-3/6-4. In a match-up to determine a first-time pro singles champ, recent Fed Cup star Roemer (ECU), who reached her first career challenger final in April, wins out over the 20-year old Egyptian.
===============================================


A whole new world...






But still an old one, as the Washington Post sports department (a thin shadow of its former one-of-the-best-in-the-nation self, trust me) continues to embarrass itself this summer when it comes to its coverage of women's tennis...



Even before this (and Sally Jenkins' doozy of a column on page A1 last weekend), this was how the Wimbledon final -- won by Angie Kerber, not that that was immediately apparent, or even secondarily -- was treated the next morning...


And, just for a comparison, this was how Francesco Molinari's British Open win, with an attention-getting Tiger Woods close finish, was handled just a short time later, when the actual story *wasn't* lost amid the personal sentiment...



1. Hiroshima Final - HSIEH SU-WEI def. Amanda Anisimova
...6-2/6-2.

Cont'd...

Scene 2: Not a Fortuitous Forehand... Simply Deadly Design



Scene 3: Cat, Meet Mouse


===============================================
2. Hiroshima Q2 - Amanda Anisimova def. ULA RADWANSKA
...6-1/3-6/6-4. Ula sighting! Before her straight sets loss in the final, the teenager's only dropped set in seven Q/MD matches came to Aga's sister. The four games Anisimova gave up in the 3rd was the most she lost in any of the twelve sets the Bannerette won, as well. The world #29 in 2012, U-Rad is currently ranked #359. She's posted wins this season over Priscilla Hon, Tara Moore, Tereza Smitkova, Katie Swan and Wang Xinyu.
===============================================
3. Hiroshima 2nd Rd. - ANNA KAROLINA SCHMIEDLOVA def. Viktorija Golubic
...5-7/7-5/6-3. AKS lost to Anisimova a round later, but she still posted just her second tour-level QF result (w/ her Bogota title earlier this year) since 2015. The '15 QF run was in Wuhan, and at the time was the Slovak's fifth QF-or-better finish in a six event stretch. She then proceeded to lose 20 of her next 25 matches.
===============================================
HM- $15K Frydek-Mistek CZE SF - GABRIELA PANTUCKOVA walkover MAGDALENA PANTUCKOVA
...three of the Czech sisters' six career matchups have either been walkovers or ended via a retirement, including three of four over the last two years (Magdalena retired in their Budapest challenger final last month, as well). Gabriela ultimately lost her bid for her fifth title of the season, losing to Poland's Marta Lesniak in a three-set final. Magdalena herself has reached five challenger finals since May, winning one.
===============================================


Truth, justice and the covering of the ass...

As the week played out in the aftermath of the U.S. Open final, there was some common sense achieved in many corners about what actually happened on the Ashe court, rather than the scene as it played out in the fevered minds of some who spoke early, often and loudly, often without utilizing any little real knowledge of the situation or rules of the game. There was at least some attempt at a walk-back of immediate emotional responses by others, as well as the usual attempt to privately patch up a mess of its own making by the USTA...

Also, some pointed words from none other than Barbora Strycova (I'm using the link because many Tweets link to a more truncated version of the article), who makes a lot of good points, setting aside the irony of, you know, *Barbora Strycova* critiquing another player's angry/emotional reactions on the court. Of course, maybe the Czech is actually a perfect critic, because she *isn't* a perfect on-court actor. The social media trolls who pass off her comments with the usual insulting "what has *she* won" wave of the hand sort of miss the point, as well as reinforce the notion that Serena is both seeking to be treated equally, as well as being treated differently because she's *Serena Williams*, as if she can only be judged by another 23-time slam champion. And since, you know, that would only leave Margaret Court as the judge and jury, I think the problem with that is quite apparent.







And, back to work...





And the opening up of yet another battlefield, too. Oh, why not? (Rolls eyes.)










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#beautifulplace

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????

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*MULTIPLE WTA SINGLES TITLES in 2018*
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE [S.P'burg,Doha,Prague,Madrid,Birm]
3 - Simona Halep, ROU [Shenzhen,Roland Garros,Montreal]
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR [Brisbane,Dubai,Rome]
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL [Hobart,Lugano,Rabat]
2 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [Australian Open,Eastbourne]
2 - Angelique Kerber, GER [Sydney,Wimbledon]
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN [Indian Wells,US Open]
2 - Kiki Bertens, NED [Charleston,Cincinnati]
2 - PAULINE PARMENTIER, FRA [Istanbul,Quebec City]

*2018 FIRST-TIME FINALISTS*
Hobart - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (#57, 29)
Taipei City - Kateryna Kozlova, UKR (#85, 23)
Acapulco - Stefanie Voegele, SUI (#183, 27)
Mallorca - Tatjana Maria, GER (#79, 30) [W]
Gstaad - Mandy Minella, LUX (#226, 32)
Moscow MO - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (#204, 17)
Moscow MO - Olga Danilovic, SRB(#187, 17) [W]
Nanchang - Zheng Saisai, CHN (#112, 24)
Nanchang - Wang Qiang, CHN (#78, 26) [W]
San Jose - Maria Sakkari, GRE (#49, 23)
Hiroshima - AMANDA ANISIMOVA, USA (#134, 17)
QUEBEC CITY - JESSICA PEGULA, USA (#227, 24)

*2018 BIGGEST AGE DIFFERENCE IN FINAL*
16 years - Osaka (20) def. S.Williams (36) - US Open
15 years - HSIEH (32) def. ANSIMOSVA (17) - HIROSHIMA
11 years - Kuznetsova (33) def. Vekic (22) - Washington

*2018 YOUNGEST SINGLES FINALIST*
AMANDA ANISIMOVA, USA (HIROSHIMA-L) - 17,2w
Anastasia Potapova, RUS (Moscow MO-L) - 17,4m
Olga Danilovic, SRB (Moscow MO-W) - 17,6m,1w
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Lugano-L) - 19,11m,1w
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Eastbourne-L) - 20,1m,3w
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (New Haven-W) - 20,3m,3w
Naomi Osaka, JPN (IW-W) - 20,5m
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (Dubai-L) - 20,9m,2w
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (Miami-L) - 20,9m,3w
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (IW-L) - 20,10m,1w
Naomi Osaka, JPN (US Open-W) - 20,10m,3w

*2018 OLDEST SINGLES CHAMPION*
33y,1m,1w - Svetlana Kuzntsova, RUS (Washington)
32y,7m,2w - PAULINE PARMENTIER, FRA (QUEBEC CITY)
32y,3m - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (Istanbul)
32y,8m,2w - HSIEH SU-WEI, TPE (HIROSHIMA)
30y,10m,2w - Tatjana Maria, GER (Mallorca)
30y,6m - Angelique Kerber, GER (Wimbledon)
30y,3m - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (San Jose)

*QUALIFIER/LUCKY LOSER/PR/UNSEEDED WILD CARD IN FINAL*
Brisbane - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (23, #88, Q)
Saint Pet. - Petra Kvitova, CZE (27, #29, WC) [W]
Stuttgart - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (26, #16, WC)
Gstaad - Mandy Minella, LUX (32, #226, PR)
Moscow MO - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (17, #204, WC)
Moscow MO - Olga Danilovic, SRB (17, #187, LL) [W]
Hiroshima - AMANDA ANISIMOVA, USA (17, #134, Q)
QUEBEC CITY - JESSICA PEGULA, USA (24, #227, Q)

*LOW-RANKED FINALISTS IN 2018*
#227 - JESSICA PEGULA, USA (QUEBEC CITY)
#226 - Mandy Minella, LUX (Gstaad)
#204 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (Moscow MO)
#187 - Olga Danilovic, SRB (Moscow MO) [W]
#183 - Stefanie Voegele, SUI (Acapulco)
#181 - Serena Williams, USA (Wimbledon)
#134 - AMANDA ANISIMOVA, USA (HIROSHIMA)
#132 - Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (Bogota) [W]
#128 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (Washington) [W]
#122 - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (Istanbul) [W]
#112 - Zheng Saisai, CHN (Nanchang)
#105 - Alison Riske, USA (Nurnberg)

*TOP 10 SINGLES PLAYERS FROM JAPAN - by debut*
1994 Kimiko Date
2003 Ai Sugiyama
2018 Naomi Osaka

*RECENT WTA TOP 10 DEBUTS*
=2016=
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Roberta Vinci, ITA
Madison Keys, USA
Johanna Konta, GBR
=2017=
Elina Svitolina, UKR
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
=2018=
Julia Goerges, GER
Sloane Stephens, USA
Naomi Osaka, JPN

*YEARLY SLAM WINS BY RUSSIAN/BELGIAN/WILLIAMS*
=since 1999 U.S. Open=
1999 1/1
2000 2/4 (Davenport/Pierce)
2001 2/4 (Capriati-2)
2002 3/4 (Capriati)
2003 4/4
2004 4/4
2005 4/4
2006 2/4 (Mauresmo-2)
2007 4/4
2008 3/4 (Ivanovic)
2009 4/4
2010 3/4 (Schiavone)
2011 1/4 (Li/Kvitova/Stosur)
2012 3/4 (Azarenka)
2013 2/4 (Azarenka/Bartoli)
2014 2/4 (Li/Kvitova)
2015 3/4 (Pennetta)
2016 1/4 (Kerber-2/Muguruza)
2017 1/4 (Ostapeko/Muguruza/Stephens)
2018 0/4 (Wozniacki/Halep/Kerber/Osaka)
--
TOTAL: 49/77 titles won by RUS/BEL/WILLIAMS
...(49) 23 Serena, 7 Venus, 7 Henin, 5 Sharapova, 4 Clijsters, 2 Kuznetsova, 1 Myskina
--
2018 first season since 1998 w/o title won by RUS/BEL/WILLIAMS

*MOST CONSECUTIVE DIFFERENT SLAM WINNERS*
=NINE=
1937 AO: Nancye Wynne
1937 RG: Hilde Sperling
1937 WI: Dorothy Round
1937 US: Anita Lizane
1938 AO: Dorothy Bundy
1938 RG: Simone Mathieu
1938 WI: Helen Wills-Moody
1938 US: Alice Marble
1939 AO: Emily Westacott
=current streak: EIGHT=
2017 AO: Serena Willimas
2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko
2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza
2017 US: Sloane Stephens
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki
2018 RG: Simona Halep
2018 WI: Angelique Kerber
2018 US: Naomi Osaka

*FIVE DIFFERENT SLAM+WTAF WINNERS IN SEASON*
=2005=
AO: Serena Williams
RG: Justine Henin-Hardenne
WI: Venus Williams
US: Kim Clijsters
WTA: Amelie Mauresmo
=2017=
AO: Serena Williams
RG: Alona Ostapenko
WI: Garbine Muguruza
US: Sloane Stephens
WTA: Caroline Wozniacki
=2018??=
AO: Caroline Wozniacki
RG: Simona Halep
WI: Angelique Kerber
US: Naomi Osaka
WTA: ??

*2018 GRADE 1/A/SLAM JUNIOR CHAMPS*
Coffee Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Copa Barranquilla G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Traralgon G1: Liang En-shou/TPE
Prague G1: Maria Timofeeva/RUS
Australian Open: Liang En-shuo/TPE
Mundial Juvenil G1: Gabriella Price/USA
Asuncion Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Banana Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Yeltsin Cup G1: Lenka Stara/SVK
Porto Alegre GA: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
Nonthaburi G1: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup G1: Naho Sato/JPN
Perin Memorial G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
Trofeo JCF G1: Diane Parry/FRA
U.S. Int'l Spring Chsp G1: Hurricane Tyra Black/USA
Beaulieu-sur-Mer G1: Eleonora Molinaro/LUX
Mediterranee Avenir G1: Yasmine Mansouri/FRA
Santa Croce G1: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
Trofeo Bonfiglio GA: Eleonora Molinaro/LUX
Astrid Bowl G1: Alexa Noel/USA
Roland Garros: Coco Gauff/USA
Offenbach G1: Lea Ma/USA
Allianz Kundler German Juniors G1: Selma Stefania Cadar/ROU
Roehampton G1: Coco Gauff/USA
Wimbledon: Iga Swiatek/POL
China Junior G1: Wong Hong Yi Cody/HKG
PG Co. Int'l HC G1: Katie Volynets/USA
Banque Nationale du Canada G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
U.S. Open: Wang Xiyu/CHN










TOKYO (PPO), JAPAN (Premier/Hard Court Indoor)
=RECENT WS FINALS=
2009 Sharapova d. Jankovic
2010 Wozniacki d. Dementieva
2011 A.Radwanska d. Zvonareva
2012 Nadia Petrova d. A.Radwanska
2013 Kvitova d. Kerber
2014 Ivanovic d. Wozniacki
2015 A.Radwanska d. Bencic
2016 Wozniacki d. Osaka
2017 Wozniacki d. Pavlyuchenkova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Wozniacki, #2 Garcia
WD: #1 S.-Hlavackova/Strycova, #2 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan



GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
=RECENT WS FINALS=
2012 Hsieh Su-wei d. Robson
2013 Zhang Shuai d. V.King
2014 Niculescu d. Cornet
2015 Jankovic d. Allertova
2016 Tsurenko d. Jankovic
2017 Zhang Shuai d. Krunic
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Sabalenka, #2 Cornet
WD: #1 Christian/Santamaria, #2 Voskoboeva/Zvonareva



SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
=RECENT WS FINALS=
2012 Wozniacki d. Kanepi
2013 A.Radwanska d. Pavlyuchenkova
2014 Ka.Pliskova d. Lepchenko
2015 Begu d. Sasnovch
2016 Arruabarrena d. Niculescu
2017 Ostapenko d. Haddad Maia
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Ostapenko, #2 Bertens
WD: #1 Begu/Olaru, #2 Jakupovic/Jurak

*SINGLES SF*
#1 Ostapenko d. #5 Van Uytvanck
(PR) Gasparyan d. #3 Sakkari
*SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Ostapenko d. (PR) Gasparyan


All for now.
↧

Wk.38- Changes More than Surface Deep

September 23, 2018, 7:24 pm
$
0
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Week 39 was the moment when the red carpet was rolled out in Japan for Naomi Osaka, who shined just as brightly in Tokyo as she did in New York, proving tha-... whoa, wait. Hold on.



Oh. Okay. Let's go with that, then.




*WEEK 38 CHAMPIONS*
TOKYO (PPO), JAPAN (Premier/Hard Court)
S: Karolina Pliskova/CZE def. Naomi Osaka/JPN 6-4/6-4
D: Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN/JPN) d. Andrea S.-Hlavackova/Barbora Strycova (CZE/CZE) 6-4/6-4
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Kiki Bertens/NED def. Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS 7-6(2)/4-6/6-2
D: Choi Ji-hee/Han Na-lae (KOR/KOR) d. Hsieh Shu-ying/Hsieh Su-wei (TPE/TPE) 6-1/6-2
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Wang Qiang/CHN def. Yulia Putintseva/KAZ 6-1/6-2
D: Monique Adamczak/Jessica Moore (AUS/AUS) d. Danka Kovinic/Vera Lapko (MNE/BLR) 4-6/7-5 [10-4]



PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:Karolina Pliskova/CZE and Kiki Bertens/NED
...as the season enters its final stages, Pliskova finally seems to be finding her stride. Maybe all it took was jettisoning a coach to shake up the snowglobe for the better.



Since moving on from her latest (and "last") male Czech coach (Tomas Krupa) -- excluding her dad, who was with her in Tokyo -- before the U.S. Open in favor of Rennae Stubbs (though Conchita Martinez helped out in NYC) Pliskova has seem reinvigorated. While her results hadn't been bad prior to that, the "feeling" and undertone of her performances -- especially regarding her serve -- had lost some of the buzz that made her seem a sure-thing "next maiden slam" champ contender as recently as early 2017 (if not even later). Her QF run at Flushing Meadows brought back much of that "glow," and while she wasn't always at her best in Tokyo Pliskova nonetheless carried with her the inner belief that she was indeed *back*. Overcoming a 4-1 3rd set hole vs. Dasha Gavrilova, then saving two MP vs. Alison Riske, showed the fight was there. A win over Donna Vekic got the Czech into her second '18 final (her first on hard court since Doha in February '17), where she found her best form of the week in her biggest match against Naomi Osaka. While Osaka struggled to fine tune her game, Pliskova's was crisp from the outset. She never lost serve vs. the U.S. Open champ, carrying her good form to a straight sets win, an eleventh career title (she's on a 5-0 run in finals) that sets her up for a possible WTAF berth, as well as a leading role in the Fed Cup final vs. the U.S. this November. Maybe the "Ace Queen" *isn't* Julia Goerges now?

Meanwhile... now *that's* the kiss of a hard queen.



After a career of playing in the dirt, Bertens has earned her land legs this summer. Her title run in Cincinnati, after all her previous seven tour finals had come on clay, gave so much definitive proof that the 26-year old's game and training regimen had developed into the something that plays well on *all* surfaces that it's no longer even a *story* that she won her *second* hard court title of the summer in Seoul. That's what she did, though, picking up '18 title #3 with wins over Luksika Kumkhum, Dalina Jakupovic, Evgeniya Rodina, Maria Sakkari and Ajla Tomljanovic in a three set final. Bertens will climb to a career-best #11 on Monday, just 100 points behind #10 Goerges, and even closer to Pliskova for the final spot in the Race for Singapore. If she makes the next logical leap, Bertens would be the first Dutch woman to make her Top 10 debut in more than two decades, and just the third ever to do it, following in the footsteps of Betty Stove (1976) and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (1996).
===============================================
RISERS:Wang Qiang/CHN, Yulia Putintseva/KAZ and Camila Giorgi/ITA
...Wang's roll continued in Guangzhou, as she became just the fifth Chinese player in tour history to win multiple career singles titles, and only the third (w/ Li Na and Zheng Jie) to win more than one in a single season. After winning her maiden title in Nanchang in July, Wang followed up with a successful defense of her Asian Games Gold medal, upset Magdalena Rybarikova and Irina-Camelia Begu at the U.S. Open (she'd def. Venus at RG), and reached the Hiroshima semis a week ago before her most latest title run. Wins over Nicole Gibbs, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Fiona Ferro and Andrea Petkovic preceded her 1 & 2 handling of Putintseva in the final. In all, she dropped no sets en route, making her the first tour-level singles champion in 2018 to go from start to finish with such an unblemished record. Not that that's new for her, as she also did so while winning her Asian Games crown.



Meanwhile, Putintseva is still in search of her maiden tour title. The 23-year old reached her second career tour final (w/ Saint Petersburg last season) in Guangzhou, getting there after posting straight sets victories over Sara Sorribes Tormo, Sabine Lisicki, Kateryna Kozlova and Bernarda Pera. For all that she's done over the course of her career since May 2012 (when she won a $100K challenger in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, and then a month later stopped representing Russia in favor of Kazakhstan) -- including not only the two tour finals, but six more on the ITF level (2 $100K's), all twenty of her slam MD appearances (w/ 2 QF at RG), a Top 30 ranking in '17, and all five of her career Top 10 victories -- she's not won a singles title (WTA, 125 or ITF) over that same stretch.



In Tokyo, Giorgi once again proved to be a factor when she's on her game, which she has been for most of this season. Her final four finish with wins over Misaki Doi, Caroline Wozniacki and Vika Azarenka (ret.) gives her '18 campaign (now) three tour SF results (Sydney, Prague and this week), a slam QF (Wimbledon), a career-best win (#2 Wozniacki), a 33-19 overall mark and (on Monday) an equaling of the career high rank (#30) she set in 2015.


===============================================
SURPRISES:Choi Ji-hee/Han Na-lae (KOR/KOR) and Bernarda Pera/USA
...wild card entrants Choi & Han were able to give the Seoul crowd something it hadn't seen in fourteen years -- a home grown champion. Cho Yoon-jeong & Jeon Mi-ra won the WD in the inaugural '04 event, but this year's WD title was the first by a Korean pair in the event since then, and just the second ever on tour. Both Choi and Han have made a good career on the ITF circuit, with Choi winning 17 doubles titles ($25K being the biggest) and Han 16 (also, with $25K being the high water mark), but nothing even closely compares to their maiden tour title run, which included a pair of 3rd set TB wins (1st Rd. vs. Hon/Sizikova and 2nd Rd. vs. #2 seeded Jakupovic/Jurak) that were followed by a 1 & 1 destruction of #3 E.Perez/Ar.Rodionova in the semis and a 3 & 2 final win over the Hsieh sisters, Shu-ying and Su-wei, the latter of which who followed up her Hiroshima singles title with a semifinal run this week. Of some note, Cho & Jeon's '04 title came with a final win over Chuang Chia-jung and... Hsieh Su-wei.


This was only the third pairing of Choi & Han, who posted a previous pair of $25K semis in 2015 and earlier this season.

In Guangzhou, a year after she made her tour debut in the event, Pera reached her maiden WTA singles semi with victories over Magdalena Frech, Viktoria Kuzmova and Aleksandra Krunic. It was Pera's first multi-win MD event since she defeated Aryna Sabalenka and Johanna Konta in Madrid in the spring. She reached the Charleston QF in April, losing to Madison Keys in a 7-5 3rd set, as well as the 3rd Round in her slam debut in Melbourne (qualifying and posting wins over Anna Blinkova and, again, Konta). The 23-year old Croatia-born Bannerette will climb ten spots to #72 on Monday, just four off the career high mark she set in June.


===============================================
VETERAN:Andrea Petkovic/GER
...Petkovic began the year playing in Brisbane qualifying, hoving around #100 in the rankings and then losing her opening match to Polina Monova in straight sets. Things have gotten substantially better, and her season seems to be ending on what may be a much higher note. She's shined in the slams, even without a result better than the 3rd Round, as she upset Petra Kvitova in Melbourne and Kristina Mladenovic in Paris, then battled Alona Ostapenko in the 1st Round in one of the most exciting women's matches at the U.S. Open. After reaching a previous semifinal in Washington this summer (def. #3 Sloane Stephens, her biggest win in five years, and Belinda Bencic), Petko got her second this past week in Guangzhou with wins over Lizette Cabrera, Wang Yafan and Vera Lapko. Just two weeks after her 31st birthday, Petko will be at #69 on Monday, with a shot in the final weeks at her first Top 50 finish since 2015.


===============================================
COMEBACKS:Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS and Rebecca Marino/CAN
...Tomljanovic came into Seoul on a high off her Hiroshima QF, and fought (survived) her way through another good week, staging a 1st Round comeback vs. Alison Van Uytvanck (5-3 down in the 3rd) and fighting off a comeback attempt from Mandy Minella in the QF. A win over Tamara Zidansek in between gave her her sixth QF-or-better result (more than any other Aussie this season), and her revenge win over Hsieh Su-wei (who defeated her a week ago) got her into her second post-shoulder surgery final of 2018. She failed to get her maiden tour title, losing to Kiki Bertens in three sets in her third WTA final, but will still rise to a new career high of #44 this week.




On the ITF level, Marino's successful return from her five-year retirement added a fifth '18 singles title in the $25K in Lubbock, Texas. The Canadian posted wins over Eudice Chong, Chang Kai-chen, Sanaz Marand, Hayley Carter and, in the final, former NCAA champ Robin Anderson, 6-4/6-1. She'll climb into the Top 200 this week. Marino won five ITF titles in the first phase of her career, as well as reaching a tour-level final in 2011 and ranking as high as #38 that same year.


===============================================
FRESH FACES:Naomi Osaka/JPN, Donna Vekic/CRO and Maria Sakkari/GRE
...the week began with a lingering question revolving around just how much of the U.S. Open Osaka we'd see in Tokyo, what with the whirlwind trip around the world (and all points in between) and higher level of expectation that accompanies *any* maiden slam winner, let alone the first ever from Japan, one with potentially "generational talent," and who'd been the "other" part of a messy slam final that occurred in New York just a few weeks ago.

Well...




As it turned out, The Great Wave of Osaka wasn't yet ready to recede.



Of course, that doesn't mean there wasn't a moment to "hold your roll."

While the 20-year old was hardly overwhelmed by the Open experience, which she proved as the cut another swath through another draw with wins over Dominika Cibulkova (3 games), Barbora Strycova (7) and Camila Giorgi (5) to reach her second Tokyo final in three years. But, in the final, while her level of play vs. Pliskova wasn't *bad*, it wasn't quite up to the level that powered her ten-match winning streak, either. While the Czech was efficient, clean and with few errors, (the tired?) Osaka's UE totals were higher than what has become her "new" norm, and her frustration was more "post-Indian Wells"-like than what we saw in New York. Still, she kept the final scoreline (6-4/6-4) close, and recorded the best post-maiden slam result on tour in over six years.

Wave Warnings still apply.



Vekic closed up her summer schedule by adding another quality result to a list that already included a Nottingham SF, Wimbledon Round of 16 and Washington final, as well as a win over world #4 Sloane Stephens. Last week in Tokyo, the 22-year old Croat reached another semifinal, defeated Stephens again, taking down Johanna Konta, and then matching her career best win with a victory over #4 Caroline Garcia. Vekic moves into the Top 40 this week, just three spots behind the career-best mark (#37) she set in August.




Sakkari's '18 season hasn't exactly been one with a continual upward tilt. She lost her first five matches of the season, then four more in a row this summer, followed by a 2-4 slump following her best career result in San Jose, where she reached her maiden tour final. When she's been good, though, she's shown the promise that could ultimately make her the best Greek women's player ever (a title surely still owned at the moment by 5-time tour titlist and former world #14 Eleni Daniilidou). In addition to the San Jose final, Sakkari reached the Istanbul semis in April, a result she matched this week in Seoul (def. Schmiedlova, Gasparyan and Begu), as well as the Round of 16 in Indian Wells and her fourth slam 3rd Round (RG) over the last two seasons. Her win over #5 Karolina Pliskova in Rome was a career best, and the 23-year old will next find herself at a new career high of #29 on Monday.


===============================================
DOWN:2017-18 Slam Winners
...Osaka's encouraging event-after week aside, the courts were littered with the remains of grand slam champions from the last two seasons.

In Tokyo, Sloane Stephens fell in straight sets in the 1st Round to Donna Vekic, falling to 0-7 in post-U.S. Open matches in Asia in the last two seasons (after a 2017-18 combined 25-7 summer HC mark heading into the last two 4Q).



Also in Tokyo, Garbine Muguruza committed 22 UE in fifteen games, winning just three from Alison Riske in their 2nd Round match. She DF'd on MP. She's 4-6 since reaching the Roland Garros semis. Meanwhile, defending (2016-17) Tokyo champ Caroline Wozniacki, nursing injury all summer, lost in three sets to Camila Giorgi in the 2nd Round to fall to 2-5 since winning Eastbourne.

In Seoul, defending champ Alona Ostapenko saw her tenure end as she fell to 3-5 since reaching the Wimbledon semis. She lost 3 & 2 to Ekaterina Alexandrova, dropping serve five times and seeing the Russian nearly double her in winners. With her Seoul championship reign over, she's now gone title-less for a full year.


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


ITF PLAYERS:Liudmila Samsonsova/RUS and Fernanda Brito/CHI
...19-year old Hordette Samsonova picked up her biggest career title (4th career) at the $60K challenger in Saint-Malo, France, defeating 18-year old Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska 6-0/6-2 in the final (after having to qualify for the MD) and climbing into the Top 200 for the first time. Ranked outside the Top 550 this spring, Samsonova has had a fine summer, winning an additional $25K crown last month, as well as reaching another final, a semi and three QF.



In Buenos Aires, Brito won yet another $15K challenger, defeating Catalina Pella 6-1/6-4 to win her eighth straight title (in her 9th consecutive final) and extending her winning streak to 40 matches (part of a 44-1 run). She also swept the s/d titles at an event for the seventh time this season, claiming her fifth straight WD crown in her ninth consecutive final. Combining both disciplines, the Chilean has won 48 straight matches, 70 of 71, and gone 77-3 since late April.


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


JUNIOR STAR:Emma Navarro/USA
...Duke commit Navarro, 17, picked up the title at the Grade 2 u18 Canada World Ranking Event in Montreal. The #2 seed defeated the #4 (Kylie Collins/SF) and #1 (Chloe Beck/USA) seeded girls in the SF and Final, respectively, and will leap into the girls Top 100. She also reached the girls doubles final with longtime doubles partner/friend Beck. Navarro, who lost in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open juniors to eventual champ Wang Xiyu (she'd earned a WC by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships in Charleston in July), reached the Grade 1 Astrid Bowl final in June and B1 Easter Bowl semis in March. She's gone 41-10 since last fall.

Meanwhile...


===============================================
DOUBLES:Miyu Kato/Makota Ninomiya (JPN/JPN) and Monique Adamczak/Jessica Moore (AUS/AUS)
...a week after reaching the Hiroshima final (and losing) as the #1 seeds, Kato & Ninomiya won in Tokyo, the first title as a duo for the recent Asian Games Bronze medalists and '18 FC stars (5-0), as an unseeded entry that survived a 10-7 3rd set in the QF vs. L.Kichenok/Srebotnik, then defeated the #2 (Dabrowski/Xu) and #1 (Hlavackova/Strycova) seeds in straight sets to claim the crown. It's the second title for both Japanese players, as Kato won in Katowice in '16 (w/ Hozumi) and Ninomiya at the tour's other Tokyo event that same season (w/ Aoyama).



In Guangzhou, the all-Aussie duo of Adamczak & Moore claimed the title with a 10-4 3rd set TB win over Kovinic/Lapko. It's the second title for both the 35-year old Adamczak ('17 Nottingham w/ Storm Sanders) and 28-year old Moore ('16 Bucharest w/ Varatchaya Wongteanchai). This was just the fourth event pairing of the two (all this summer, when they'd gone 2-3 before this week), who have now combined with a virtual (and nearly complete) Who's Who of Aussie Doubles Players to reach 52 career pro WD finals with their countrywoman since 2000.

Aussies who've reached finals with Adamczak:

Stephanie Bengson
Bojana Bobusic
Christina Horiatopoulos
Nicole Kriz
Olivia Lukaszewicz
Jessica Moore
Tammy Patterson
Arina Rodionova
Olivia Rogowska
Storm Sanders
Shelley Stephens
Samantha Stosur
Christina Wheeler

With Moore:

Monique Adamczak
Alison Bai
Ash Barty
Bojana Bobusic
Casey Dellacqua
Anja Dokic
Jarmila Gajdosova
Alenka Hubacek
Daniella Jeflea
Marija Mirkovic
Abbie Myers
Sally Peers
Ellen Perez
Storm Sanders
Olivia Tjandramulia

For her part, Moore was a junior star a decade ago, winning both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon girls doubles titles in '08, as well as reaching the RG girls singles final (losing to Arantxa Rus) that same year.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:Giulia Capocci/ITA
...the 26-year old Italian, the world #8, was the home nation champ of the Sardinia Open in Alghero, Italy, defeating #9 Marjolein Buis 3 & 4 in the final to claim her first career ITF Series 1 title. Capocci, who also defeated second-seeded Katharina Kruger in the semis, swept the doubles, as well, teaming with Pastry Charlotte Famin to defeat Buis & Kruger 4 & 1 in the final.


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


Another entry in the continuing Should-Be-But-Never-Will-Be-a-WTA-Marketing-Campaign series...



Meanwhile, say hello to The Most Interesting Tour's spirit rodent...




1. Seoul Final - Kiki Bertens def. Ajla Tomljanovic
...7-6(2)/4-6/6-2. Yep, Bertens is now tied for the lead for the most hard court titles (2) in 2018. The others: Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Wang Qiang.


===============================================
2. Guangzhou Final - Wang Qiang def. Yulia Putintseva
...6-1/6-2. While Putintseva has lost her last eight singles finals (0-2 on tour and 0-6 on the ITF circuit, after winning her *first* six challenger finals in 2011-12), while Wang has gone 13-2 since 2014 (2-0 WTA, 1-1 125, 8-1 ITF, 2-0 Asian Games).

Qiang's getting used to the post-final ceremony thing.


===============================================
3. Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...6-4/2-6/7-5. Garcia had never beaten, or take a set from, the Russian. But Pavlyuchenkova, the '17 runner-up, dropped the 1st after holding a break lead, served for the match and held 3 MP. In the end, she DF'd on Garcia's MP, squandering yet another match that should have been won, adding to quite a lengthy career list. Shocking, I know.


===============================================
4. Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - Camila Giorgi def. Caroline Wozniacki
...7-5/6-2. Wozniacki was the two-time defending champion, three-time Tokyo winner, and had won nine straight matches in the event. Giorgi, who notched her fourth career Top 5 win (and biggest), ultimately lost to Osaka, who lost to Wozniacki in the final two years ago.
===============================================
5. Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - Barbora Strycova def. Anett Kontaveit
...7-6(5)/3-6/7-5. Strycova nearly blew a 5-1 1st set lead, but won in a TB. She led 4-1 in the 3rd, but saw the Estonian extend the set and save seven MP. Finally, on #8, the Czech went through.
===============================================


6. Tokyo PPO 1st Rd. - Ash Barty def. CoCo Vandeweghe
...4-6/6-3/7-5. It's never easy to figure out how to celebrate defeating the doubles partner that you so joyfully celebrated so much with just a few weeks ago. Trying to translate "shoot myself in the foot" for the Japanese crowd was probably equally quite the task.


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


7. Tokyo PPO 1st Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Sloane Stephens 6-4/6-4
Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Johanna Konta 7-5/6-2
...a year after tearfully losing a 10-8 3rd set vs. Konta at Wimbledon, Vekic rebounded with a 2018 Round of 16 run that included a 1st Round upset of Sloane Stephens. Once again, Stephens and Konta entered the Donna conversation in Tokyo, as Vekic got her second straight win over Sloane, and second career win over the Brit.


===============================================
8. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Sabine Lisicki def. Vera Zvonareva
...6-4/6-2. The German gets her first tour-level MD win since February (she'd gone 1-8 overall, only putting up a victory over Grace Min in a $60K), and her first *ever* over Zvonareva. Of course, they hadn't played since 2011, with the Russian holding a 4-0 edge in a quartet of 2010-11 match-ups.


===============================================
9. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Evgeniya Rodina def. Kirsten Flipkens
...6-4/4-6/7-5. The Russian vet was 6-for-6 on BP chances, but had to avoid squandering a 4-1 3rd set lead, finally serving out the win on her second attempt. On MP, a Flipkens shot was called "good" by a linesperson, then changed to "out," ending the Waffle's attempt at a comeback. She wasn't happy.


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


10. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-3/6-2. The Russian took out the defending champ, and maybe even more shockingly outpaced her in winners (18-11). Alexandrova won just one game from Hsieh Su-wei in the next round. Not a Tennis Sudoku fan, I'm guessing.
===============================================


11. Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - Alison Riske def. Garbine Muguruza
...6-1/6-2. Muguruza, who ended this one with a DF, is (so far) closing out '18 with a whimper. So... a slam title run and return to #1 in '19, then?
===============================================
12. Seoul 1st Rd. - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Alison Van Uytvanck 3-6/7-5/7-5
Seoul QF - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Mandy Minella 6-2/4-6/7-5
...the Aussie's run to the final included an escape vs. the Belgian (Van Uytvanck led 5-3 in the 3rd and served for the match), while Tomljanovic led by a set and break vs. Minella, then lost a 5-2 3rd set lead before breaking the vet from Luxembourg late and serving it out.
===============================================
13. JUNIORS STEPPING UP IN WEEK 38...
...with not-so-varying results.

Guangzhou Q1 - Ivana Jorovic def. Liang En-shou (AO Jr. champ) 6-1/6-1
Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Fiona Ferro d. Wang Xiyu (US Jr. champ) 6-3/6-3
Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Denis Khazaniuk def. Wang Xinyu (WI GD champ) 6-4/4-6/6-3
Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Danka Kovinic/Vera Lapko def. Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu (WI GD champs) 6-2/6-1



But things are already looking better in Week 39...

Wuhan Q1 - Wang Xiyu def. Viktoria Kuzmova 7-6(5)/6-2
Wuhan Q2 - Wang Xiyu def. Vania King 6-1/0-0 ret.

Wang plays Bernarda Pera, with the winner getting Dasha Kasatkina.
===============================================
14. Wuhan Q1 - Wang Yafan def. Amanda Anisimova
...6-4/3-6/6-2. The differences between Japan and China are stark.





===============================================
15. Tokyo PPO QF - Camila Giorgi def. Victoria Azarenka
...5-3 ret. Just when Vika Things start to look up (wins over Nara and Barty)...


===============================================
HM- Wuhan 1st Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Kristina Mladenovic
...7-6(4)/6-2. For her third straight event, Mladenovic loses (dropping 12 of 14 games after leading 5-1 in the 1st) and avoids a next-round match-up with Caroline Garcia. In New Haven, she lost to Sasnovich, with Garcia awaiting in the 2nd Round. At the U.S. Open, a win by Suarez-Navarro prevented a 3rd Round meeting. Garcia, even with her QF loss to Vekic in Tokyo, is 20-6 in her last 26 matches in Asia.
===============================================





1. Tokyo PPO Final - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. NAOMI OSAKA
...6-4/6-4. After a week of struggles and perserverence that nonetheless resulted in an undefeated run to the final, Pliskova plays her best match of the week in the most important contest of the tournament, ending Osaka's 10-match losing streak, climbing into the eighth spot in the WTA Finals race and, maybe, even giving another recent sign that the '16 version of herself isn't gone for good and that she may yet still have that maiden slam run left in her.


===============================================
2. Seoul Final - Choi Ji-hee/Han Na-lae def. HSIEH SHU-YING/HSIEH SU-WEI
...6-1/6-2. And the Hsieh sisters *don't* become the eleventh all-sibling duo to claim a WTA doubles titles. The others:

*WTA ALL-SISTER DOUBLES TITLES*
22 - Serena & Venus Williams
10 - Chan Hao-Ching & Yung-Jan (Angel & Latisha)
3 - Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova
3 - Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko
2 - Lyudmyla & Nadiia Kichenok
1 - Chris & Jeanne Evert
1 - Katerina Maleeva & Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere
1 - Cammy & Cynthia MacGregor
1 - Aga & Ula Radwanska
1 - Adriana & Antonella Serra-Zanetta

===============================================
3. Tokyo PPO 1st Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA
...7-6(2)/3-6/7-6(8). Pliskova led 3-0 and 4-1 in the 3rd, and held two MP (at 5-4, and in the TB), while Gavrilova served for the match at 6-5 before the Czech forced the deciding breaker. In all, Kristyna converted 7-of-21 BP, held a 126-124 points edge, led 44-27 in winners, fired 7 aces to the Aussie's 12 DF, but Gavrilova won the 2:53 contest (which had 92 combined UE, 49 of them from Dasha) to advance to play the *other* Pliskova twin.


===============================================
4. Tokyo PPO 2nd Rd. - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Dasha Gavrilova
...4-6/6-4/6-4. You mess with one twin, you get the other. Karolina opened what turned out to be a title-winning week by coming back from 4-1 down in the 3rd to get her first win.
===============================================
5. Tokyo PPO QF - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Alison Riske
...6-1/6-7(5)/7-6(4). Riske had a good week, qualifying and notching wins over Bouchard and Muguruza. But the Bannerette's Tachikawa experience ended when Pliskova rallied from a break deficit in the 3rd set (twice), saving two MP on Riske's serve en route to becoming the eighth '18 singles champion to survive being a point from defeat as a prelude to lifting a trophy.


===============================================
HM- Tokyo PPO Q1 - Antonia Lottner def. MARI OSAKA
...6-3/4-6/6-3. The event was ultimately bookended by losses by an Osaka sister.
===============================================




Cue the Kool-Aid Man...












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Today’s plan? Drink coffee and be happy! ??????

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Not familiar with the posing here yet ??????????

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Hmmm, imagine if this was a prelude to an actual 2019 coaching session...




Could mean something. Could mean nothing.














*2018 WTA TITLES*
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE [S.P'burg,Doha,Prague,Madrid,Birm]
3 - Simona Halep, ROU [Shenzhen,Roland Garros,Montreal]
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR [Brisbane,Dubai,Rome]
3 - KIKI BERTENS, NED [Charleston,Cincinnati,Seoul]
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL [Hobart,Lugano,Rabat]
2 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN [Australian Open,Eastbourne]
2 - Angelique Kerber, GER [Sydney,Wimbledon]
2 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE [Stuttgart,Tokyo PPO]
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN [Indian Wells,US Open]
2 - WANG QIANG, CHN [Nanchang,Guangzhou]
2 - Pauline Parmentier, FRA [Istanbul,Quebec City]

*2018 FROM MATCH POINT DOWN TO WIN TITLE*
Australian Open: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (2-2r/Fett)
Charleston: Kiki Bertens, NED (1-SF/Keys)
Strasbourg: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1-F/Cibulkova)
Rosmalen: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (1-SF/Vandeweghe)
Eastbourne: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (1-SF/Kerber)
Washington: Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (4-F/Vekic)
Cincinnati: Kiki Bertens, NED (2) (1-F/Halep)
TOKYO PPO: KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE (2-QF/Riske)

*2018 CONSECUTIVE FINALS*
2 - Simona Halep (Shenzhen-W/AO-L)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (Brisbane-L/AO-W)
2 - Petra Kvitova (StP-W/Doha-W)
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (Dubai-L/IW-L)
2 - Elise Mertens (Lugano-W/Rabat-W)
2 - Petra Kvitova (Prague-W/Madrid-W)
2 - Simona Halep (Rome-L/RG-W)
2 - Simona Halep (Montreal-W/CincinnatiL)
2 - NAOMI OSAKA (US-W,Tokyo-L)

*2018 REACHED FINAL IN HOME NATION*
Sydney - Ash Barty, AUS
Miami - Sloane Stephens, USA [W]
Prague - Petra Kvitova, CZE [W]
Nottingham - Johanna Konta, GBR
Moscow MO - Anastasia Potapova, RUS
Nanchang - Zheng Saisai, CHN
Nanchang - Wang Qiang, CHN [W]
US Open - Serena Williams, USA
GUANGZHOU- WANG QIANG, CHN [W]
TOKYO PPO - NAOMI OSAKA, JPN

*2018 WTA FINALS*
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (3-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-0)
4 - KIKI BERTENS, NED (3-1)
3 - NAOMI OSAKA, JPN (2-1)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (3-0)
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL (3-0)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (2-1)
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (1-2)
3 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (1-2)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (1-2)

*UNDEFEATED IN MULTIPLE 2018 FINALS*
5-0 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
3-0 - Elina Svitolina , UKR
3-0 - Elise Mertens, BEL
2-0 - Anqelique Kerber, GER
2-0 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE
2-0 - WANG QIANG, CHN
2-0 - Pauline Parmentier, FRA

*CAREER WTA TITLES - CHN*
9 - Li Na (2004,08,10-14)
4 - Zheng Jie (2005-06,12)
2 - WANG QIANG (2018)
2 - Peng Shuai (2016-17)
2 - Zhang Shuai (2013-17)
1 - Duan Yingying (2016)
1 - Yan Zi (2005)
1 - Sun Tiantian (2006)

*DEFEATED #1 SEED & DC, DIDN'T WIN TITLE in 2018*
Stuttgart: CoCo Vandeweghe, USA [QF-Halep,2r-Siegemund]=lost F
Madrid: Karolina Pliskova, CZE [QF-Halep]=lost SF
TOKYO PPO: CAMILA GIORGI, ITA [2r-Wozniacki]=lost SF
SEOUL: EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA, RUS [2r-Ostapenko]=lost QF

*2018 WTA WD FINALS*
8...Demi Schuurs, NED (6-2)
5...Elise Mertens, BEL (3-2)
5...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (2-3)
4...Ash Barty, AUS (4-0)
4...Timea Babos, CZE (2-2)
4...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-2)
4...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (2-2)
4...Kveta Peschke, CZE (2-2)
4...Katerina Siniakova,CZE (2-2)
4...BARBORA STRYCOVA, CZE (2-2)
4...HSIEH SU-WEI, TPE (1-3)
4...Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (1-3)
4...Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (1-3)
4...Andreja Klepac, SLO (1-3)
4...Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP (1-3)
4...MAKOTO NINOMIYA, JPN (1-3)
4...ANDREA S.-HLAVACKOVA, CZE (1-3)

*2018 OLDEST WTA DOUBLES CHAMPION*
43 - Kveta Peschke, CZE (San Jose, w/ L.Chan)
42 - Kveta Peschke, CZE (Prague, w/ Melichar)
37 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (C'ston Kudryavtseva/N'berg Schuurs)
36 - Abigail Spears, USA (Nottingham, w/ Rosolska)
35 - Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP (Mallorca, w/ Klepac)
35 - Raquel Atawo, USA (Stuttgart, w/ Groenefeld)
35 - MONIQUE ADAMCZAK, AUS (GUANGZHOU, w/ Moore)
[young finalist]
17 - Tang Qianhui (Nanchang-W)
19 - Fanny Stollar (Budapest-W/Rabat-L)
19 - Vera Lapko (Lugano-L)
19 - VERA LAPKO (GUANGZHOU-L)
19 - Aryna Sabalenka (Lugano-L)
19 - Anna Blinkova (Rabat-W)
19 - Jiang Xinyu (Nanchang-W)

*2018 PREMIER MANDATORY/PREMIER 5 FINALS*
Doha (HC) - #21 Kvitova/CZE d. #4 Muguruza/ESP
Indian Wells (HC) - #44 Osaka/JPN d. #19 Kasatkina/RUS
Miami (HC) - #12 Stephens/USA d. #5 Ostapenko/LAT
Madrid (RC) - #10 Kvitova/CZE d. #20 Bertens/NED
Rome (RC) - #4 Svitolina/UKR d. #1 Halep/ROU
Montreal (HC) - #1 Halep/ROU d. #3 Stephens/USA
Cincinnati (HC) - #17 Bertens/NED d. #1 Halep/ROU
Wuhan (HC) - x
Beijing (HC) -x










WUHAN, CHINA (Premier 5/Hard Court)
=WS FINALS=
2014 Petra Kvitova d. Genie Bouchard
2015 Venus Williams d. Garbine Muguruza
2016 Petra Kvitova d. Dominika Cibulkova
2017 Caroline Garcia d. Ash Barty
=WD FINALS=
2014 Hingis/Pennetta d. C.Black/Garcia
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Begu/Niculescu
2016 Mattek-Sands/Safarova d. Mirza/Strycova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis d. Aoyama/Yang Zhaoxuan
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki
WD: #1 Babos/Mladenovic, #2 S.-Hlavackova/Strycova


TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l/Hard Court)
=RECENT WS FINALS=
2012 Begu d. Vekic
2013 Jovanovski d. Govortsova
2014 Knapp d. Jovanovski
2015 Hibino d. Vekic
2016 Kr.Pliskova d. Hibino
2017 K.Bondarenko d. Babos
=RECENT WD FINALS=
2013 Babos/Shvedova d. Govortsova/Minella
2014 Krunic/Siniakova d. Gasparyan/Panova
2015 Gasparyan/Panova d. Dushevina/Siniakova
2016 Olaru/Soylu d. Schuurs/Voracova
2017 Babos/Hlavackova d. Hibino/Kalashnikova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Begu, #2 Lapko
WD: #1 Begu/Olaru, #2 Hibino/Kalashnikova



JUNIOR FED CUP 16s (Budapest, HUN)
=RECENT FINALS=
2000 Czech Republic d. Hungary
2001 Czech Republic d. Poland
2002 Belarus d. Czech Republic
2003 Netherlands d. Canada
2004 Argentina d. Canada
2005 Poland d. France
2006 Belarus d. Russia
2007 Australia d. Poland
2008 United States d. Great Britain
2009 Russia d. Germany
2010 Russia d. China
2011 Australia d. Canada
2012 United States d. Russia
2013 Russia d. Australia
2014 United States d. Slovakia
2015 Czech Republic d. United States
2016 Poland d. United States
2017 United States d. Japan
=MOST TITLES=
5 - AUS
4 - RUS,USA
3 - CZE
2 - ARG,BEL,BLR,NED,POL
1 - FRA,FRG,GER,ITA,RSA,SLO,TCH


And, finally...

http://beyoncescock.tumblr.com/post/178278125096



All for now.
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Wk.39- It Could Have Been Aryna

September 30, 2018, 9:49 pm
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Clear a path. Here comes Boom-Boom...





*WEEK 39 CHAMPIONS*
WUHAN, CHINA (Premier 5/Hard Court)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Anett Kontaveit/EST 6-3/6-3
D: Elise Mertens/Demi Schuurs (BEL/NED) d. Andrea S.-Hlavackova/Barbora Strycova (CZE/CZE) 6-3/6-3
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Margarita Gasparyan/RUS def. Anastasia Potapova/RUS 6-2/6-1
D: Olga Danilovic/Tamara Zidansek (SRB/SLO) d. Irina-Camelia Begu/Raluca Olaru (ROU/ROU) 7-5/6-3
JUNIOR FED CUP 16s (Budapest/Red Clay)
F: USA (Gauff/Noel/C.Ma) def. UKR (Lopatetskaya/Kostenko/Rublevska) 2-1
3rd: SVK def. RUS 2-0



PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...it could have been Aryna. When Belarusian Boom faced off with Naomi Osaka in their "Boom-Shaka-Osaka" Round fo 16 U.S. Open clash in New York, the notion was alive that the winner might then become *the* Generation PDQ entrant in the mix for a first-time deep at the year's final slam. As it turned out, Osaka's game was the more consistent and mature of the two. She won in three sets. Having not lost a set in the tournament prior to facing Sabalenka, Osaka didn't lose another afterward, either, and went on to claim her maiden slam title. Had things gone differently, though, it could have been Aryna.

After all, the Belarusian had been *the* breakout star of the summer hard court season, posting six Top 10 wins and becoming a first-time tour champ in New Haven, while (though still with an occasional slip) learning on the job how to corral her power, keep her head straight, construct better points, rely on her serve (though not *exclusively*) to get her out of jams and, finally, to mold herself into an early version of the sort of awesome winner her game says she *could* ultimately become.

Well, we're a few weeks past the U.S. Open now. Sabalenka saw what happened to Osaka (the actual stuff, not the ridiculous crap), and at some point had to wonder, "could it have been me?"

In Wuhan, with her potential future playing out in her mind's eye, we may have gotten a true Sabalenkan glimpse of things to come.

The 20-year old opened with a pair of three-set wins over Carla Suarez-Navarro and Elina Svitolina, but after nearly bageling the Ukrainian in the final set Sabalanka never looked back, flipping the switch on what coach Dimitry Tursonov might call her "beast mode" as she swept through Sonya Kenin, Dominika Cibulkova, Ash Barty and Anett Kontaveit, extending her set-winning run to nine on her way to lifting her second career tour singles title trophy, both coming in her last four events. Her win over Svitolina was her seventh Top 10 win of the season, behind only Kiki Bertens' ten, and she'll now climb to a new career high of #16.

2018 is almost over. Flashfoward to 2019... as it's already been on two occasions with her PDQ cohorts, it might just *be* Sabalenka.




===============================================
RISERS:Anett Kontaveit/EST and Wang Qiang/CHN
...Kontaveit has been a talented player looking to make "the big step" for the better part of two seasons now, and maybe the recent moving on from Glenn Schapp to Nigel Sears as her coach will ultimately have the same sort of "magical" impact that the Big Sascha/Naomi combo has in '18. So far, it's already produced the biggest final of her career. Described by Sears as a combination of an aggressive ball striker and counterpuncher, the 22-year old Estonian's varied results have shown hers to be a game readily able to win on any surface, in any circumstance. Her final run in Wuhan is the fourth of her career, with each match taking place in different playing conditions. Last season, she reached an indoor hard court final in Lugano, another on the grass at Rosmalen, and a third on red clay in Gstaad. This week's event final (her biggest yet, in a Premier 5) was held on outdoor hard court.



Kontaveit's week opened with her seventh Top 10 win of '18, a defeat of Sloane Stephens after she'd found herself down 6-4/4-3, 40/love. She came back with additional victories over Donna Veckic, Zhang Shuai, Katerina Siniakova and Wang Qiang before being simply overpowered by Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The Estonian will jump six spots to a new career high of #21.

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FINAL ?????????? @wuhanopen

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It had to end sometime for Wang Qiang, but what a ride it's been.




It just so happened that Wang's run of brilliance on Chinese soil came to an end at the hands of Kontaveit in the Wuhan semis when the 26-year old, who'd become the first from her nation to ever advance so far in the event in front of a home crowd, was forced to retire in the 2nd set, unable pull off a win in her eleventh match in twelve days. Wang's previous wins ove Maria Sakkari, Tokyo champ Karolina Pliskova (at #7 her biggest career win), Dasha Gavrilova and Monica Puig had run her winning streak in China to fourteen matches. She'll climb to yet another career high (#28) this week, as she's once again in the draw in Beijing (and set to play Ostapenko).


===============================================
SURPRISES:Olga Danilovic/Tamara Zidansek (SRB/SLO) and Kateryna Kozlova/UKR
...in Moscow in July, 17-year old Danilovic became the youngest tour singles champion of 2018. This weekend in Tashkent she because the youngest doubles champ, winning her maiden WTA WD crown two and a half months earlier in life than Nanchang champ Tang Qianhui had when she won her second career title earlier this year. After falling in the 2nd Round in singles, to the player she'd beaten to win her first WS crown (Anastasia Potapova), the Serb teamed with 20-year old Zidansek (also a maiden champ, adding a tour-level WD title to the 125 Series event she won in Bol w/ Magda Linette in June) to finish out the week on a winning note. They survived a pair of 3rd set TBs -- 1st Rd. vs. Geuer/Schoofs, SF vs. #2-seeded Hibino/Kalashnikova -- and then defeated #1-seeds Begu & Olaru in straight sets in the final to claim the crown. Danilovic/Zidansek (combined 37 years) are the second youngest tour champions of '18, behind Tang & Jiang Xinyu (19, combining for 36).



Also in Tashkent, Kozlova added a semifinal result to the maiden final run she pulled off in Taipei City in February. She opened with a win over top-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu and followed up with additional victories over Fiona Ferro and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova before eventually falling to Potapova. The 24-year old Ukrainian's season highlight was her Roland Garros 1st Round upset of defending champion Alona Ostapenko.
===============================================
VETERANS:Dominika Cibulkova/SVK and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
...when Cibulkova is fired up and on a roll almost anything is possible (see 2016's WTA Finals), but she's now approaching what would be a two-year title drought if she doesn't notch a win before the end of the season. If that plays out, it would prove to be a career long title-less period come the start of '19, topping the 25-month stretch between career wins #4 (March '14) and #5 (April '16). The 29-year old Slovak didn't reach her third '18 final (after Budapest and Strasbourg) in Wuhan, but she did run off a series of nice wins over Monica Niculescu, Simona Halep (her fifth career #1 victory) and Dasha Kasatkina before losing to a hungry Aryna Sabalenka in the QF.



Also in Wuhan, Pavlyuchenkova also didn't win a title (incidentally, if she had it'd have made her the only WTA player in history with 13 tour singles titles but no slam semifinal results -- all 39 other women with that many titles have at least one), but she had one of her best weeks of the season, notching three Top 20 wins over Anastasija Sevastova, Kiki Bertens and Petra Kvitova en route to her third QF of the year (her lone '18 title came in Strasbourg). She lost to Ash Barty, and has already exited in the 1st Round in Beijing, courtesy of Sloane Stephens, who recorded her first 4Q win in Asia since 2015.
===============================================
COMEBACK:Margarita Gasparyan/RUS
...in 2015 and into the '16 season, Gasparyan looked to be heading the next wave of Hordette stars. At 21, armed with a rare one-handed backhand, she'd climbed into the Top 50, won a tour singles title (and three WD crowns) and been the victor in her first nine ITF finals, as well as having reached a slam Round of 16 ('16 AO) in just her third try. But a knee injury in the summer of '16 nearly brought an end to it all. She missed sixteen months, underwent three surgeries and very nearly was forced to retire. She finally returned last October. In January, she was ranked outside the Top 1100. By spring, she'd reached her first post-surgery final in a $25K challenger in Spain. She made her MD tour return (her first since Wimbledon '16) in Nanchang (while ranked #499) in July, knocked off Hsieh Su-wei in New Haven qualifying in August, then pushed Angelique Kerber in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open in what served as something of a second "coming-out party." Last week, all the work and progress came together, well, perfectly.



Ranked #299 and in the MD via her protected ranking, which was set to run out soon, the 24-year old Russian displayed the perseverance on the court that helped her maneuver over the rocky terrain that she encountered off it for much of the last two years. A straight sets 1st Round win over Sabina Sharipova was followed by a trio of three setters. Gasparyan recovered from a 0-4, love/30 3rd set deficit vs. Tatjana Maria, winning a 3rd set TB to reach her first WTA QF since the 2015 Kremlin Cup. Next was a comeback win from a set down vs. Fanny Stollar, followed by survival (7-5 3rd) in a SF match in which Mona Barthel served for the match. In her first WTA final since her Baku win in August '15, Gasparyan allowed just three games to countrywoman Anastasia Potapova in the tour's 29th all-Russian singles final. Gasparyan will return to the Top 200 this week for the first time in almost twenty-one months.

The.Most.Interesting.Tour.In.The.World.Never.Rests.
===============================================
FRESH FACES:Anastasia Potapova/RUS, Katerina Siniakova/CZE and Ash Barty/AUS
...one of these days, Potapova will likely *fully* escape the lingering shadow of Olga Danilovic, the fellow 17-year old she met in the Moscow River Cup final in July in the youngest tour singles final in thirteen years. While Potapova picked up her maiden tour doubles title in that event, it was only after Danilovic has defeated her to become a maiden *singles* champion. It looked like Potapova was finally going to "out-do" the Serb this past week in Tashkent. After qualifying and coming back from a set down vs. Stefanie Voegele, she defeated Danilovic in the 2nd Round in their first match-up since their final clash, then advanced to her second career tour final (still six months before her 18th birthday) by posting additional wins over Dalila Jakupovic and Kateryna Kozlova. While she fell in the final to fellow Hordette Margarita Gasparyan, Potapova will join Danilovic as first-time Top 100 players this week, even passing her by the rankings (though just barely, as she moves from #132 to #93, while Danilovic improves from #101 to #97). But, again, it's the Serb who left this early-career watershed event for the two teenagers with a title, having picked up her maiden WD crown along with Tamara Zidansek. One of these days.




In Wuhan, Siniakova had what has often been a "typical" week for her, as the Czech showed grit and flash but, in the end, still came up short. After qualifying with wins over Jil Teichmann and fellow Maiden Marketa Vondrousova, Siniakova knocked off Kristina Mladenovic, then saved a MP and dethroned defending champ Caroline Garcia before offing former finalist Garbine Muguruza. But a magnificent run to a title in the event -- ala Garcia last year, and Sabalenka this -- wasn't in the cards, as she fell to Anett Kontaveit in the QF. She's since qualified in Beijing, as well. Siniakova will jump seven spot to #40 this week, just four off her career high.



Barty advanced one round deeper in the draw in Wuhan than Siniakova, reaching her fifth '18 semifinal while posting wins over Johanna Konta, Zheng Saisai, Angelique Kerber and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The victory over the #3-ranked German was her first Top 10 win of the season and the biggest of her career. She notched three Top 10 victories en route to the Wuhan final a year ago meaning four of her five career victories have come in the event.
===============================================
DOWN:Elina Svitolina/UKR and Petra Kvitova/CZE
...Svitolina continues to "trust the process," even as her on-court results continue to gently swirl downward in the closing weeks of 2018. The Ukrainian announced that Nick Saviano will serve as a coach through the end of the season, but what she's produced while he's been around hasn't exactly looked like any sort of "light bulb over her head" sort of moment. Well, unless what Saviano has seen leads him to hint that maybe Svitolina's "process" isn't necessarily trustworthy *enough* to overlook how her figurative standing on tour (though not ranking, yet) has fallen over the past year. In Wuhan, Svitolina fell in the 2nd Round to eventual champ Aryna Sabalenka. On it's face, that's no red flag, but yet another blindside in a 3rd set (this one a 6-1 loss) *is* a continuation of a big event trend for the world #5. Svitolina lost the 1st set despite having led 4-2, and only narrowly avoided another final set show-me-the-door bagel, getting on the board vs. the Belarusian only after falling into a 5-0 hole. In Beijing, she's already out, as well, blowing a 6-0/4-1 lead over Aleksandra Krunic and falling to the Serb in a 3rd set TB.

As Svitolina soon heads into an offseason where some decisions will have to be made (coaching and otherwise), it's worth noting that there's a fine line between trusting a process and turning a nifty renovation-and-improvement project into a messy game of Pick-up-Stix that requires a far longer period of clean-up.

Meanwhile, Kvitova has always been a big fan of playing in China, and her past results have usually shown us why. The Czech has reached four tour finals in China during her career, winning three titles, including twice (2014 and '16) in Wuhan. Her career mark in the latter event was 13-2 before she fell in three sets this week to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the 3rd Round. She then followed up that result with a 1st Round exit in Beijing at the hands of Dasha Gavrilova, 6-2/6-1. Kvitova will likely lead the tour in singles titles this season (her total of five is two up on anyone in the field), but her woeful slam performances (a combined 4-4, with two 1st Round losses, giving her just one QF result at a major over the last three years) and back-half slip (after a 36-7 start, she's gone 10-8) aren't exactly putting a final polish on one of 2018's best stories. Of course, there's always the Fed Cup final for that.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Asia Muhammad/USA
...Muhammad's career year added yet another winning chapter on Sunday in Templeton, California when the 27-year old grabbed her third ITF singles title of the season at the $60K challenger. After defeating the likes of Giuliana Olmos, Katherine Sebov, and Madison Brengle en route to her tenth career circuit final, Muhammad won out over Sesil Karantcheva 2-6/6-4/6-3 to win her second $60K event of 2018.



On Sunday evening, after winning the singles, Muhammad joined once again with Maria Sanchez to contest the doubles final against Quinn Gleason and Luisa Stefani. The pair had already won a $100K title, reached a 125 Series final and won a tour crown in Quebec City in recent months, and their 6-7(4)/6-2 [10-8] victory added yet another triumphant chapter to Muhammad's '18 campaign.
===============================================
JUNIOR STARS:USA Junior Fed Cup (16s), Wang Xiyu/CHN and Clara Burel/FRA
...the rivalry between the U.S. and Ukrainian junior girls led to yet another showdown in the Junior Fed Cup final in Budapest. After splitting a pair of final meetings in the ITF World Junior 14s championships the last two years, with the players just a little bit older the two nations met up again to determine the FC 16s team title after a week of play on red clay. After Lyubov Kostenko defeated Alexa Noel 4 & 1 in the opening match, Coco Gauff knotted the tie with a 6-1/4-6/6-0 win over Dasha Lopatetskaya, who'd upset her in the U.S. Open girls QF earlier in September. It set up a final battle on the dirt, and what a clash it turned out to be, as Gauff & Noel battled from behind to defeat Kostenko/Lopatetskaya in an 11-9 deciding TB, overcoming 4-1 and 8-6 deficits and saving a MP. The win is the fifth in the competition's history for the U.S. (two in a row, and three in five years), as the Junior Bannerettes denied Ukraine what would have been its first crown.



17-year old U.S. Open girls champ Wang Xiyu continued to show herself to already be someone not to be overlooked, as well as a potential legitimate force very soon. Already a two-time ITF champ (in three finals) this summer, Wang qualified in Wuhan (def. Viktoria Kuzmova, as well as a retiring Vania King), posted her first career WTA Premier-level MD win (in just her sixth tour-level MD appearance) over Bernarda Pera, then gave world #13 Dasha Kasatkina all she could handle in the 2nd Round. The lefty teenager led the Russian 5-2 in the 3rd set, and served at 5-4, 30/love before dropping thirteen straight points. She broke to force a deciding TB, but fell to the 21-year old after having held four MP. She'll climb into the Top 200 for the first time this week (#181), making her one of seven players under 18 ranked in the Top 200 (w/ Anisimova, Potapova, Danilovic, Kostyuk, Swiatek and Juvan).




In Clermont-Ferrand, France, 17-year old Burel, the girls runner-up at both the AO and U.S. Open (losing to Wang Xiyu) this year, reached her maiden pro singles final. The #8-ranked junior (#952 WTA) had lost her last five matches on the pro level, but rattled off three consecutive wins -- def. fellow Pastry Margot Yerolymos, #6 Marina Melnikova, receiving a walkover from #2 Richel Hogenkamp and advancing past #3 Myrtille Georges -- before falling to #4-seeded Lesley Kerkhove 6-3/4-6/6-4 in the final.



In the same event, '18 girls SW19 runner-up Leonie Kung (SUI), 17, teamed with Isabella Shinikova to take the doubles title.
===============================================
DOUBLES:Elise Mertens/Demi Schuurs, BEL/NED
...so, which is the top doubles duo of 2018? Babos (world #1) & Mladenovic, who won the AO? Krejcikova/Siniakova, who lead the points race and won two majors? Barty/Schuurs, the only duo to win *two* top level Premier events? Barty/Vandeweghe, the Miami & U.S. Open champs? Or, umm, maybe Mertens/Schuurs, who this weekend in Wuhan became the only pair to win *three* titles on the season?



While the Belgian-Dutch pair haven't won a major in '18, their Hobart, Rosmalen and Wuhan title runs (as as well as finals in Birmingham and Cincinnati -- giving them five total final appearances, more than any other twosome) at least place them in the discussion. Their most recent title-winning week included a pair of 3rd set TB wins (2nd Rd. vs. L.Kichenok/Srebotnik, SF vs. Aoyama/Marozava) before a straight sets defeat of Hlavackova/Strycova. In all, it's their fourth win (in seven finals) over the last two seasons. Mertens' fourth '18 WD title combines with three singles wins, while Schuurs leads the tour with seven doubles titles, including three at Premier 5 events.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:Marjolein Buis/NED
...a week after falling in the Sardinia Open final to Giulia Capocci, Buis rebounded to take the Series 2 crown at the French Riviera Open. The world #7, Buis maintained her perfect career mark against Dana Mathewson, defeating the Bannerette 3-6/7-5/3-2 (ret.) in the final to improve her head-to-head edge to 9-0. WC #12 Mathewson, who teamed with Charlotte Famin to defeat Buis & Katharina Kruger in the doubles final, had previously defeated #1-seeded Kruger in the semis before falling to #2 Buis.


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


This...



The Most Interesting Tour's official spirit-anthem-singer...




The offseason game of musical coaching chairs sees its first movement?




1. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Wang Xiyu
...6-1/3-6/7-6(8). The incoming corps of youthful GenPDQ members might be even more impatient than the original wave. U.S. Open girls champ Wang surely sent a shot across the bow of the whole "senior" group with this match in which she led world #13 Kasatkina 5-2 in the 3rd set. The 17-year old served up 5-4, 30/love and ultimately held four MP, as Kasatkina struggled to gain a bit in the Race for Singapore as Stephens, Svitolina, Pliskova and Bertens (all directly ahead of her in the standings) lost early in Wuhan. The Russian has already exited in Beijing, falling to Laura Siegemund 6-3/4-2 (ret. w/ illness) in her opening match, ending her Singapore hopes.



It might not be long before Wang turns this result around.
===============================================


2. Wuhan Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Anett Kontaveit
...6-3/6-3. Belarusian Boom. Boom-Boom. I think they might have Backspin Nickname Legs.


===============================================
3. Tashkent Final - Margarita Gasparyan def. Anastasia Potapova
...6-2/6-1. My preseason predictions for Gasparyan included a return to the Top 150 and a tour-level QF+ result. "Check" on the first (#138 this week), and second. Time to start counting the hits and misses soon, I guess.


===============================================
4. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Caroline Garcia
...3-6/7-6(5)/7-6(4). After failing to convert a MP in the 2nd set, then squandering a break lead in the 3rd, Garcia's first big points defense from her brilliant 2017 4Q run in Asia knocks her from #4 to #8 in the rankings, and next up is her Beijing title run cache (remember, she won BOTH Wuhan and Beijing last year). Without a title in '18, this year has become something of a "settling" one for Garcia. Not a disaster (11 multiple-win events, 2 SF, 7 QF and a pair of slam Rd. of 16's), but one lacking a huge signature moment (zero finals, just two Top 10 wins).
===============================================
5. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elina Svitolina 6-4/2-6/6-1
Beijing 1st Rd. - Aleksandra Krunic def. Elina Svitolina 6-0/4-6/7-6(4)
...getting blitzed by Boom-Boom is forgivable, but blowing a 6-0/4-1 lead (even vs. The Bracelet) is the sort of result that will greatly test The Process this offseason (and early in '19).



===============================================
6. Wuhan 3rd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Garbine Muguruza
...7-6(3)/7-6(1). If Garbi is going to look this badass in opening ceremonies, she needs to start winning big again just to keep the momentum going.



Wuhan wins over Van Uytvank and Golubic, both and in straight sets and with a bagel, were a good start. But, still.
===============================================
7. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Dominika Cibulkova def. Simona Halep 6-0/7-5
Beijing 1st Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Simona Halep 6-1 ret.
...while Halep's goal is to finish the season as #1 again -- joining Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Seles, Hingis, Davenport, Henin, Wozniacki and S.Williams with back-to-back #1 campaigns -- one wonders if it could be a waiting game to which she might not be able to contribute many (if any) points at the end of a long, physically grinding season. Her back locked up during a practice (w/ Kvitova) before play in Wuhan, and it was still bothering her as play opened up this weekend in Beijing.


===============================================
8. Wuhan 1st Rd. - Anett Kontaveit def. Sloane Stephens 4-6/7-5/6-4
Beijing 1st Rd. - Sloane Stephens def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7(8)/6-4/6-4
...was losing after leading Kontaveit 6-4/4-3, 40/love the final Asian straw from Sloane? The defeat dropped her to 0-8 on the continent in the 4Q the last two years. Finally, this weekend in Beijing she got her first late season win in Asia since 2015, coming back from seeing Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova holding a BP for a 3-1 3rd set lead to win the final set 6-4 over the Russian.


===============================================
9. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Monica Puig def. Caroline Wozniacki
...7-6(10)/7-5. It took a while (6 SP in the 1st, 7 MP in the 2nd), but Puig eventually got her second '18 win over the Dane, joining Kasatkina and Bertens with multiple season wins over the AO champ.


===============================================
10. Tashkent 2nd Rd. - Margarita Gasparyan def. Tatjana Maria
...6-2/3-6/7-6(2). The Russian's title run wouldn't have happened had she not overcome being two breaks down (0-4, love/30) in the 3rd vs. the German. She finished off Maria with a MP lob, and the rest was history.
===============================================
11. Wuhan 2nd Rd - Sonya Kenin def. Julia Goerges
...6-3/2-6/6-4. Kenin's week (which included a Q-run, allowing just two games to Hsieh Su-wei in the 1st Round and this, her second career Top 10 win) wasn't enough to get her into the overcrowded Fresh Faces category, but it's worth noting. She's up to a career-high #51 this week... and she went sightseeing, too.

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What a view of The Great Wall ??

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===============================================
12. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Duan Yingying/Wang Yafan def. Ash Barty/CoCo Vandeweghe
...3-3 ret. Ending Barty's 11-match WD winning streak.
===============================================
13. Wuhan 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Madison Keys
...6-0/4-1 ret. Keys retires with a knee injury, as Kerber improves to 8-2 in their head-to-head. It seems ages ago that the Bannerette was actually healthy for half a dozen tournaments in a row, doesn't it?


===============================================
14. Wuhan 1st Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/6-4. Some questions need to be answered, and decisions made, where Latvian Thunder is concerned this offseason.


===============================================
15. $15K Antalya QF - Romina Oprandi def. Eleni Daniliidou
...6-3/6-0. Yes, Daniliidou *is* still an active player. The 36-year old, ranked #1046 last week, produced her first 2-win MD result since July '16 (her most recent QF) in a $10K challenger in Schio, Italy.


===============================================
HM- Beijing 1st Rd. - Mihaela Buzarnescu/Monica Niculescu def. Angel Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan
...6-3/6-3. She's baaaaaack.


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




Well, until, well... you know.


1. $15K Chomomorsk UKR Final - MARYNA KOLB/NADIYA KOLB def. Alexandra Perper/Anastasia Vdovenco
...6-4/6-4. The Ukrainian siblings grab their fifth career ITF title as a duo.


===============================================
2. $25k Pula ITA Final - TAYISIYA MORDERGER/YANA MORDERGER def. Cao Siqi/Ma Shuyue
...6-7(0)/7-6(9) [12-10]. And twiiiins. The 21-year old Germans win their sixth career crown.


===============================================
3. $25k Obidos POR SF - Greet Minnen def. ULA RADWANSKA
...6-2/7-5. Ula (now #371) posts her third SF+ challenger result of the season, all of them coming in Obidos since the spring. To get here, the 27-year old defeated 37-year old Alexandra Stevenson (!), who'd previously recorded her first MD singles victory since last October.
===============================================
HM- $15K Hilton Head USA Final - BIANCA TURATI def. Michaela Bayerlova
...7-6(0)/6-2. The recent NCAA #1 picks up her third '18 title (5th career), and improves to 34-9 in pro singles matches this season. Bianca's twin sister (and University of Texas teammate) Anna is 0-1 in ITF WS finals in '18.


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


Swiss Martina, behaving like an active player...


















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Hiking in the colourful fall nature! ????????????

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?? #trusttheprocess ??

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*2018 LOW-RANKED WTA CHAMPIONS*
#299 - MARGARITA GASPARYAN/RUS (TASHKENT)
#187 - Olga Danilovic/SRB (Moscow RC)
#132 - Anna Karolina Schmiedlova/SVK (Bogota)
#128 - Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS (Washington)
#122 - Pauline Parmentier/FRA (Istanbul)
[since 2012]
#299 - MARGARITA GASPARYAN [2018/SEP - TASHKENT def. Potapova]
#233 - Marketa Vondrousova [2017/APR - Biel def. Kontaveit]
#208 - Melanie Oudin [2012/JUNE- Birmingham def. Jankovic]
#187 - Olga Danilovic [2018/JULY- Moscow RC def. Potapova]
#182 - Peng Shuai [2016/OCT - Tianjin def. Riske]
[all-time - not including unranked winners]
#579 Angelique Widjaja, INA (2001 Bali - WC)
#299 MARGARITA GASPARYAN, RUS (2018 TASHKENT - PR)
#285 Fabiola Zuluaga, COL (2002 Bogota - WC)
#259 Tamira Paszek, AUT (2006 Portoroz - Q)
#234 Lindsay Davenport, USA (2007 Bali - PR)
#233 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (2017 Biel - Q)
#208 Melanie Oudin, USA (2012 Birmingham - Q)

*2018 WTA TEEN WS FINALISTS*
17 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Hiroshima-L) - 17,2w
17 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (Moscow RC-L) - 17,4m
17 - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (TASHKENT-L) - 17,6m
17 - Olga Danilovic, SRB (Moscow RC-W) - 17,6m,1w
19 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Lugano-L)
[doubles]
17 - OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (WUHAN-W) - 17,8m,1w
17 - Tang Qianhui, CHN (Nanchang-W) - 17,10m,3w
19 - Fanny Stollar, HUN (Budapest-W)
19 - Fanny Stollar, HUN (Rabat-L)
19 - Vera Lapko, BLR (Lugano-L)
19 - Vera Lapko, BLR (Guangzhou-L)
19 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Lugano-L)
19 - Anna Blinkova, RUS (Rabat-W)
19 - Jiang Xinyu, CHN (Nanchang-W)
[young WD finalist duos]
36 - Jiang (19) & Tang (17) = Nanchang (W)
37 - DANILOVIC (17) & ZIDANSEK (20) = TASHKENT (W)
38 - Blinkova (19) & Stollar (19) = Rabat (L)

*YOUNGEST 2018 WTA FINALS*
34 - Moscow River Cup = Danilovic (17) d. Potapova (17)
40 - Indian Wells = Osaka (20) d. Kasatkina (20)
41 - TASHKENT = GASPARYAN (24) d. POTAPOVA (17)
41 - Lugano = Mertens (22) d. Sabalenka (19)

*ALL-RUSSIAN WTA SINGLES FINALS*
2003 Doha - Myskina d. Likhovtseva
2004 Doha - Myskina d. Kuznetsova
2004 Roland Garros - Myskina d. Dementieva
2004 U.S. OPen - Kuznetsova d. Dementieva
2004 Hasselt - Dementieva d. Bovina
2004 Moscow - Myskina d. Dementieva
2006 Indian Wells - Sharapova d. Dementieva
2006 Miami - Kuznetsova d. Sharapova
2006 Moscow - Chakvetadze d. Petrova
2006 Linz - Sharapova d. Petrova
2007 Hobart - Chakvetadze d. Bardina
2008 Doha - Sharapova d. Zvonareva
2008 Dubai - Dementieva d. Kuznetsova
2008 Berlin - Safina d. Dementieva
2008 Beijing - Dementieva d. Safina
2008 Tokyo - Safina d. Kuznetsova
2009 Auckland - Dementieva d. Vesnina
2009 Sydney - Dementieva d. Safina
2009 Stuttgart - Kuznetsova d. Safina
2009 Rome - Safina d. Kuznetsova
2009 Roland Garros - Kuznetsova d. Safina
2009 Toronto - Dementieva d. Sharapova
2010 Kuala Lumpur - Kleybanova d. Dementieva
2010 Istanbul - Pavlyuchenkova d. Vesnina
2010 Tashkent - Kudryavtseva d. Vesnina
2011 Baku - Zvonareva d. Pervak
2015 Moscow - Kuznetsova d. Pavlyuchenkova
2017 Indian Wells - Vesnina d. Kuznetsova
2018 Tashkent - Gasparyan d. Potapova
[players]
12 - Elena Dementieva (6-6)
10 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (5-5)
7 - Dinara Safina (3-4)
5 - Maria Sharapova (3-2)
4 - Anastasia Myskina (4-0)
4 - Elena Vesnina (1-3)
2 - Anna Chakvetadze (2-0)
2 - Alisa Kleybanova (2-0)
2 - Nadia Petrova (0-2)
2 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (1-1)
1-0: Gasparyan,Kudryavtseva,Zvonareva,
0-1: Bardina,Bovina,Likhovtseva,Pervak,Potapova,Zvonareva

*2018 FINALS RECORDS BY NATION*
7-1 - CZE
4-1 - BEL,GER,UKR
4-5 - ROU
3-1 - FRA,NED
3-4 - RUS
2-0 - SRB
2-1 - CHN,DEN,JPN
2-3 - BLR
1-0 - SWE,TPE
1-1 - HUN
1-2 - LAT
1-3 - AUS,ESP,SVK
1-8 - USA
0-1 - GBR,GRE,EST,KAZ,LUX,SLO,SUI
0-2 - CRO

*2018 WTA FINALS*
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (3-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-0)
4 - Kiki Bertens, NED (3-1)
4 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (2-2)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (3-0)
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL (3-0)
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-1)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (2-1)
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (1-2)
3 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (1-2)
[worst win pct. - multiple finals]
0.000 = Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (0-2)
0.000 = Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (0-2)
0.000 = ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (0-2)
0.000 = Alja Tomljanovic, AUS (0-2)
0.000 = Serena Williams, USA (0-2)
0.333 = Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (1-2)
0.333 = Sloane Stephens, USA (1-2)

*2018 NATIONS w/ MOST DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS*
3 = GER (Goerges,Kerber,Maria)
3 = RUS (GASPARYAN,Kuznetsova,Pavlyuchenkova)
2 = BEL (Mertens,Van Uytvanck)
2 = CZE (Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova)
2 = FRA (Cornet,Parmentier)
2 = ROU (Buzarnescu,Halep)
2 = SRB (Krunic,Danilovic)
2 = UKR (Svitolina,Tsurenko)
1 = AUS,BLR,CHN,DEN,HUN,JPN,LAT,NED,SVK,ESP,SWE,TPE,USA

*2018 BEST RESULTS - PLAYING w/ PROTECTED RANKING*
W: TASHKENT - MARGARITA GASPARYAN, RUS (24/#299)
RU: Gstaad - Mandy Minella, LUX (32/#226)
RU: Wimbledon - Serena Williams, USA (36/#181 = #25 seed)
SF: Taipei City - Sabine Lisicki, GER (28/#246)

*2018 WTA SF*
8 - Simona Halep, ROU (6-1+L)
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-1)
6 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (3-3)
5 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (4-1)
5 - Elise Mertens, BEL (3-2)
5 - ASH BARTY, AUS (2-3)
5 - Angelique Kerber, GER (2-3)
5 - Julia Goerges, GER (2-3)
5 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (2-3)

*CAREER #1 WINS - active*
16 - Serena Williams, USA
15 - Venus Williams, USA
7 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
7 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
6 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
5 - DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA, SVK
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE

*2018 WTA WD FINALS*
5...MERTENS/SCHUURS (3-2)
4...Babos/Mladenovic (2-2)
4...Krejcikova/Siniakova (2-2)
4...Klepac/Martinez-Sanchez (1-3)
4...S.-HLAVACKOVA/STRYCOVA (1-3)
3...Makarova/Vesnina (1-2)
3...Melichar/Peschke (1-2)
[individuals]
9...DEMI SCHUURS, NED (7-2)
6...ELISE MERTENS, BEL (4-2)
5...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (2-3)
5...BARBORA STRYCOVA, CZE (2-3)
5...ANDREA S.-HLAVACKOVA, CZE (1-4)

*2018 PLAYERS WITH WTA WS & WD TITLES*
Timea Babos, HUN = (1/2)
Ash Barty, AUS = (1/4)
Kiki Bertens, NED = (3/1)
Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU = (1/1)
OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB = (1/1)
Simona Halep, ROU = (3/1)
Hsieh Su-wei, TPE = (1/1)
Tatjana Maria, GER = (1/1)
ELISE MERTENS, BEL = (3/4)

*2018 FIRST-TIME WTA WD CHAMPIONS*
Anna Blinkova, RUS
Naomi Broady, GBR
Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
Choi Ji-hee, KOR
OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB
Georgina Garcia Perez, ESP
Alexa Guarachi, CHI
Simona Halep, ROU
Han Na-lae, KOR
Irina Khromacheva, RUS
Desirae Krawczyk, USA
Anastasia Potapova, RUS
Bibiane Schoofs, NED
Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
Fanny Stollar, HUN
TAMARA ZIDANSEK, SLO
[mixed]
Latish Chan, TPE
Nicole Melichar, USA

*RECENT JUNIOR FED CUP 16s FINALS*
2000 Czech Republic d. Hungary
2001 Czech Republic d. Poland
2002 Belarus d. Czech Republic
2003 Netherlands d. Canada
2004 Argentina d. Canada
2005 Poland d. France
2006 Belarus d. Russia
2007 Australia d. Poland
2008 United States d. Great Britain
2009 Russia d. Germany
2010 Russia d. China
2011 Australia d. Canada
2012 United States d. Russia
2013 Russia d. Australia
2014 United States d. Slovakia
2015 Czech Republic d. United States
2016 Poland d. United States
2017 United States d. Japan
2018 United States d. Ukraine
=MOST ALL-TIME TITLES=
5 - AUS,USA
4 - RUS
3 - CZE
2 - ARG,BEL,BLR,NED,POL
1 - FRA,FRG,GER,ITA,RSA,SLO,TCH

*2018 PREMIER MANDATORY/PREMIER 5 FINALS*
Doha (HC) - #21 Kvitova/CZE d. #4 Muguruza/ESP
Indian Wells (HC) - #44 Osaka/JPN d. #19 Kasatkina/RUS
Miami (HC) - #12 Stephens/USA d. #5 Ostapenko/LAT
Madrid (RC) - #10 Kvitova/CZE d. #20 Bertens/NED
Rome (RC) - #4 Svitolina/UKR d. #1 Halep/ROU
Montreal (HC) - #1 Halep/ROU d. #3 Stephens/USA
Cincinnati (HC) - #17 Bertens/NED d. #1 Halep/ROU
Wuhan (HC) - #17 Sabalenka/BLR d. #27 Kontaveit/EST
Beijing (HC) -x

*2018 PREMIER MANDATORY/PREMIER 5 CHAMPIONS*
Doha - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Indian Wells - Naomi Osaka, JPN
Miami - Sloane Stephens, USA
Madrid - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2)
Rome - Elina Svitolina, UKR
Montreal - Simona Halep, ROU
Cincinnati - Kiki Bertens, NED
Wuhan - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Beijing - x
[doubles]
Doha - Dabrowski/Ostapenko, CAN/LAT
Indian Wells - Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE
Miami - Barty/Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
Madrid - Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS
Rome - Barty/Schuurs, AUS/NED
Montreal - Barty (3)/Schuurs, AUS/NED
Cincinnati - Hradecka/Makarova (2), CZE/RUS
Wuhan - Mertens/Schuurs (3), BEL/NED
Beijing - x



Jules (Pulp Fiction) & Brett



New 2.0 sport: Arena Racquetball, maybe?



Tick-tock, HoF...










BEIJING, CHINA (Premier Mandatory/Hard Court)
=WS CHAMPIONS=
2004 Serena Williams d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Maria Kirilenko def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
2006 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Agnes Szavay d. Jelena Jankovic
2008 Jelena Jankovic d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Aga Radwanska
2010 Caroline Wozniacki d. Vera Zvonareva
2011 Aga Radwanska d. Andrea Petkovic
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Serena Williams d. Jelena Jankovic
2014 Maria Sharapova d. Petra Kvitova
2015 Garbine Muguruza d. Timea Bacsinszky
2016 Aga Radwanska d. Johanna Konta
2017 Caroline Garcia d. Simona Halep
=WD CHAMPIONS=
2004 Gagliardi/Safina
2005 Llagostera Vives/Vento-Kabchi
2006 Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2007 Chuang Chia-jung/Hsieh Su-wei
2008 Medina-Garrigues/Wozniacki
2009 Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai
2010 Govortsova/Chuang Chia-jung
2011 Peschke/Srebotnik
2012 Makarova/Vesnina
2013 Black/Mirza
2014 Hlavackova/Peng Shuai
2015 Hingis/Mirza
2016 Mattek-Sands/Safarova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki
WD: #1 Babos/Mladenovic, #2 S.-Hlavackova/Strycova



And, finally...





All for now.
↧

Wk.40- Hey, Remember Me?

October 7, 2018, 4:19 pm
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After a week dominated by talk of the likes of Wang, Zhang, Osaka and Sabalenka... the last woman standing in Beijing had a rather familiar face.





*WEEK 40 CHAMPIONS*
BEIJING, CHINA (Premier Mandatory/Hard Court)
S: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. Anastasija Sevastova/LAT 6-3/6-3
D: Andrea S.-Hlavackova/Barbora Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan (CAN/CHN) 4-6/6-4 [10-8]



PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...the Dane's season's has consisted of more than *just* her maiden slam title run in Melbourne, even if it sometimes hasn't seemed to be the case. For Wozniacki, with her Beijing win this week, 2018 has included three titles, four finals and four weeks at #1 (after a six-year absence). Her string of straight set victories over Belinda Bencic, Petra Martic, Anett Kontaveit, Katerina Siniakova, Wang Qiang and Anastasija Sevastova runs her season record to 40-15. She joins Wang (Guangzhou) as the only '18 singles champions to sweep every set on her way to a title.

But, for good reason, it seems as if Wozniacki has been "absent" for much of the season.

The reason is because the bulk of her season numbers came in the first half of the year, when she got off to a 31-9 start, winning the Australian Open and Eastbourne titles. As she was slowed by lingering (but not debilitating) injury issues, her three slam runs since January have delivered diminishing returns (4th/2nd/2nd), and she hasn't notched a Top 10 win since February. Sure, that's mostly because she hasn't actually *played* a Top 10 player (she only faced one Top 20 player -- Sevastova -- while winning a Premier Mandatory title this week), but much of that has been because of early-round defeats since her Eastbourne turn. Heading into Beijing, Wozniacki had gone just 3-6 since winning on the grass, losing five times to players ranked #35 or lower, while never seeing her own ranking fall below #2 since the first ranking Monday of the season (January 3) when she stood at #3.



Wozniacki's second China Open win (w/ 2010) gives her 30 tour-level singles title in her career, trying her with Tracy Austin for 17th on the all-time WTA list (breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez, who won 29).

With the bulk of 2018's Player of the Year candidates (Halep, Kerber, Kvitova) either physically dragging themselves to the finish or tiring down the stretch, and with the crowning of Beijing's champions likely ruling out any late-dash candidacy (by Osaka or, say, Mertens/Schuurs), might the Dane have an eleventh hour opportunity to make a case for herself? With three titles, she's in the mix with the season's leaders, of which she's one of three maiden slam winners. She's the only player not named Simona to hold the #1 ranking this year, though since she has the defense of her '17 WTAF title on deck her chances to end the season there for the first time since 2011 probably aren't good. But with the Beijing win in her back pocket, Wozniacki *is* the only contending player still capable of ending her season with a big title haul should she pick her second consecutive win in Singapore (she's not scheduled to play any events in the two weeks leading into the WTAF).

Personally, I think Swarmette #1's overall '18 accomplishments, no matter the Dane's finish, will be difficult to top. But she could still make things interesting.
===============================================


RISER:Wang Qiang/CHN
...Wang has become a legitimate WTA star over the last three-plus months, and even while her Beijing run (when she became the first Chinese semifinalist at the event since Li Na in '12) came up short of producing the China Open's first home-grown singles finalist, the 26-year has carved out a niche for herself as the best player on tour from her country, and its first bona fide tennis star since the retirement of soon-to-be Hall of Famer Li.

23-6 in all tour-level matches since the end of Wimbledon, and 28-6 when you count her Asian Games Gold medal run, Wang's greatest hits just kept coming all week in Beijing. Amazingly, after *opening* with a double-bagel win over Alona Ostapenko things managed to somehow get even *better* for her. She followed up with two *more* Top 20 wins over Tokyo champ Karolina Pliskova and Wuhan winner Aryna Sabalenka, reaching the semis without dropping a set to post her fourth straight SF-or-better tour-level result since the U.S. Open, where she dumped out the first seed to lose (Magdalena Rybarikova) and reached the 3rd Round. Finally, worn down and facing the sort of opponent in Caroline Wozniacki that one doesn't want to face when you're worn down, Wang fell in straight sets to the Dane in what was her 18th match in the last 26 days. She'll climb to a new career high of #24 on Monday, and she's *still* not through with Asia or China -- she's in this week's Hong Kong draw.



===============================================
SURPRISE:Ons Jabeur/TUN
...while the 24-year old Tunisian's '18 hasn't had the sort of headline-worthy moment as her "first Arab woman to reach a slam 3rd Round" run last year at Roland Garros from last year, which led to her maiden Top 100 season, her first career #1 win (after a 6-1 1st set win over a retiring Simona Halep, now officially suffering from a back injury) at least provides the opportunity for a look back at a campaign which began on a bad note but has progressively picked up steam over the past ten months.



Last year in Beijing, Jabeur's qualifying defeat kicked off what turned out to be a seven-match losing streak that stretched into the new year. She lost her first five matches of '18, starting 1-9. Counting her successful Q-run at *this* year's event, and retirement win over Halep, she's gone a combined 29-14 since, putting up notable results on all surfaces. On clay, the '11 RG girls champ (and '10 jr. finalist) reached a tour-level QF (Bucharest) and $100K semi. She won the $100K Manchester title on grass, earning a Wimbledon wild card, and qualified at the year's final hard court slam at Flushing Meadows before recording her second career Top 10 win on the surface over the world #1 last weekend (at #116, she's the lowest-ranked opponent to advance past the top-ranked woman in nine years), a victory which followed Q-round wins over Monica Puig and Tatjana Maria. In the 2nd Round, she had chances against Donna Vekic, and at least made the Croat work. Vekic needed three SP to secure the 1st, and Jabeur rallied from a 5-0 2nd set deficit, breaking serve twice while Vekic served for the match. It took four MP to finally secure Jabeur's demise. She'll climb back into the Top 100 on Monday, with a chance to follow up or improve upon her career best season-ending finish (#88) from '17.

By the end of the event, she was being fondly recalled a smile by Naomi Osaka, as well. So, all in all, a banner week.


===============================================
VETERANS:Anastasija Sevastova/LAT and Zhang Shuai/CHN
...maybe Sevastova can finally think about adding a few other t-shirts to her closet, filling the space next to the ones have "I ❤ NY" emblazoned across the front.



This week Beijing hosted Sevastova's run to her seventh and biggest career final, the sixth since her un-retirement three seasons ago. Wins over Alize Cornet, Donna Vekic, Dominika Cibulkova and Naomi Osaka (her fourth Top 10 win of '18) all came without dropping a set, a run which came to an uncermonious end in a 3 & 3 loss in the final to Caroline Wozniacki. Still, Beijing was Sevastova's third final of the season, with each coming on a different surface (w/ Mallorca/grass and Bucharest/clay). She joins Kvitova and Sabalenka as the only players to reach finals on all three surfaces in 2018.



With the result, Sevastova rises to a new career high of #12, passing countrywoman Alona Ostapenko (who falls five spots to #18) to become the highest-ranked Latvian on tour.



Until the bitter end, or close to it, Zhang and countrywoman Wang Qiang put on quite a show for the home fans in Beijing. While Wang reached the semis, the first Chinese woman to do so in the event since 2012, Zhang's concurrent QF run gave the tournament *two* home stars in the final eight for the first time since 2006 (Li and Peng Shuai, who also fell, respectively, at the QF and SF stages). Zhang's week included victories over Elise Mertens, Timea Babos and Angelique Kerber (w/ a love 3rd set, her first Top 10 win of the season, sixth of her career, and first since early '17 in Doha). The 29-year old ultimately fell in the QF to Naomi Osaka, after having led 4-1 in the 3rd and served for the match, but even with such a disappointing finish the week maintained the rising level Zhang's results have shown since this summer. The stretch has included good results in doubles (U.S. Open SF and Hiroshima title), mixed doubles (U.S. Open SF) and singles (an additional QF in Nanchang). After a slow start to '18 (14-17), she's gone 15-8 since Wimbledon (w/ her Asian Games final run included), including an 8-3 4Q Asian swing.




===============================================
COMEBACK:Laura Siegemund/GER
...the 30-year old's comeback from knee surgery has gone fairly well so far. Ranked #142, she was in the Beijing MD via her protected ranking. While her 6-3/4-2 (ret.) 1st Round win over Dasha Kasatkina didn't come in the preferred fashion, it still ended what had been a five-matching losing streak. Siegemund's last win was in mid-August in the $60K Hechingen final, her second of back-to-back finals at the end of a 17-4 summer run that included three ITF finals, a title and two tour-level QF (Bucharest & Moscow). It was also the German's first victory over a Top 20 opponent (she'd been 0-4 in '18) since before her knee injury. She last recorded a Top 20 win (vs. Konta in Madrid) in what was her fifth straight match (all wins) vs. Top 20 foes in May of last year, as it came immediately after the Stuttgart title run that included consecutive defeats of then #9 Kuznetsova, #3 Ka.Pliskova, #5 Halep and #19 Mladenovic.



In Hong Kong, Siegemund lost in the final round of qualifing to Hungary's Fanny Stollar.
===============================================
FRESH FACES:Naomi Osaka/JPN and Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...the Boom-Shaka-Osaka Redux final didn't come off in Beijing, but Osaka and Belarusian Boom both surely made their presence felt in China.

Osaka often battled herself, but figured out a way to dig out a QF win over Zhang Shuai after trailing 4-1 (with Zhang serving for the match) in the 3rd set of a two and a half hour contest, a rare '18 victory for the U.S. Open champ after losing the 1st set. Her fifth career Top 10 win had come in the 3rd Round over Julia Goerges, but Osaka (dealing with a back issue which hampered her movement) was never able to combat the varied game of Anastasiya Sevastova, who added another layer to her attack by piling up aces throughout the match. While she didn't become the first this year to advance to the singles finals in three straight events, Osaka is still the only player this season to reach at least the semis (I.W. champ) at two of the schedule's four Premier Mandatory events. She'll be at a career-best #4 in the coming week.



Sabalenka's WTA Finals hopes fell by the wayside in Beijing, but she still posted another QF-or-better result in Beijing, a Wuhan title run follow-up which included victories over Garbine Muguruza and defending champion Caroline Garcia, the latter in comeback fashion after trailing 7-5/5-2. The Belarusian couldn't overcome the defense and ability/willingness to stand up to her power that Wang Qiang displayed in her 7-5/7-5 win, but the 20-year old still improved to 22-5 since her San Jose qualifying loss two months ago and will rise to yet another career-high rank this week as she heads to Tianjin, moving up five spots to become the new #11 player in the world.




===============================================
DOWN:Simona Halep/ROU, Alona Ostapenko/LAT and Caroline Garcia/FRA
...is there any player who needs the offseason more than Halep? Ever since she rolled her ankle in Melbourne, 2018 has been a marathon in which she's had to stay one step ahead of her yelping body. In a way, it makes all that she's accomplished even that much more impressive. She's been #1 for all but four weeks, reached two major finals, claimed her maiden slam title, and came within a MP of a Montreal/Cincinnati sweep. After tweaking her back in a practice session in Wuhan, though, there was reason to worry (as is the case anytime "back injury" and "tennis player" are mentioned in the same sentence), and it proved to be legit as Halep retired in Beijing after just one set against Ons Jabeur with her back once again sending up flares over the stadium.



With her latest issue, revealed after an MRI as a herniated disc, one might think that the time may have arrived for Simona to consider an official '18 shutdown in order to give her '19 season a fighting chance to begin with a clean bill of health. As of now, though, it appears that she'll finish out the season. Just how *competitive* she'll be, though, remains to be seen.



Though she's holding onto a Top 20 ranking, reached a Premier Mandatory final (Miami) and slam semi (Wimbledon), won a tour doubles title and starred in Fed Cup, Latvian Thunder's season has had something of a "wanting" feel to it (especially as Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka have gone about answering so many questions about *their* games in recent weeks). Ostapenko's inconsistencies, service liabilities and lack of tactical development have gone largely unaddressed for months. Now, after losing by a shocking double-bagel scoreline to Wang Qiang in the 2nd Round in Beijing, we found out that Ostapenko is also dealing with a left wrist injury. While Halep *needs* the offseason to arrive, Ostapenko should be *looking forward* to it. With (hopefully) less distractions than she encountered between her '17 and '18 campaigns, it should provide a suitable time to reassess and take the appropriate action in order to follow up on the promise she showed two seasons ago. Big shots aren't going to be enough to consistently compete with the very best of Generation PDQ, and the Latvian *knows* that that (and more) should be goal. More depth is going to be necessary, and she should be on a worldwide search for "her Sascha Bajin" to help her figure out how to get it.



Two weeks ago, Garcia came into her back-to-back Wuhan/Beijing title defenses sporting a career-best #4 ranking. After failing to convert a MP in her 2nd Round match against Katerina Siniakova a week ago, then being unable to put away Aryna Sabalenka despite holding a 7-5/5-2 lead in the 3rd Round in Beijing the Pastry will fall to #15 in the new rankings. With the bulk of her career-best 4Q run from last fall well behind her, she's now gone a full year without a title (and still has her WTAF semifinals points to fall off). While Garcia hasn't dropped off the face of the singles earth quite like her former French doubles partner (currently holding onto a Top 50 ranking) essentially has in '18, Garcia's two most recent losses are precisely the sort of matches that she *won* while building herself into a Top 10 player. In an offseason surely to include quite a few new coaching announcements, the time might be near for Garcia to consider looking outside the family (her father's on-court visits have often seemed to have an *adverse* effect on her play in the season's final months) for assistance. Hmmm, if only her former Fed Cup Captain/Pastry Whisperer were available to once again help the player she seemed to take under her wing more than any other during her reign.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Madison Brengle/USA
...in Stockton, California it was 28-year old Brengle adding a third '18 ITF challenger title (her second $60K, to go along with a $100K win). The #1 seed, Brengle defeated Ashley Kratzer, Ann Li and #3 Sofya Zhuk to reach the final without dropping a set. Once there, she battled Danielle "The Little Giant" Lao for over two hours before winning a tight two-setter. Brengle had to play from behind the entire 2nd set, as Lao held three different break leads in the set, and twice served to send things to a 3rd. In a momentum-exchanging tie-break, Lao took a mini-break lead at 1-0, then Brengle won three straight points, then Lao won four, and Brengle two more. Ultimately, Lao held four SP, only to see Brengle finally wrestle away the advantage and win on her second MP, taking the match by a 7-5/7-6(10) score in 2:07.



Brengle, now with 13 career circuit titles, has won eight consecutive ITF finals dating back to 2014. Since it became public in April that she'd filed a lawsuit vs. the ITF & WTA for being injured due to drug testing procedures she's thrived, going 29-12.

For her part, while she still hasn't won an ITF since title since 2015, 27-year old Lao has had what might be considered her career year in 2018. She's posted successful Q-runs in tour events in Nottingham and San Jose, as well as the U.S. Open, and reached a 125 Series QF in April. In Stockton, she put up wins over #4 Marie Bouzkova, Whitney Osuigwe and #2 Jessica Pegula.

#95 Brengle, looking to complete her fifth consecutive Top 100 season, will inch into the Top 90 with the result, while Lao will jump from #218 to #194, just one off her career-best rank.
===============================================
JUNIOR STAR:Lyubov Kostenko/UKR
...the 15-year old, just off her run to the Junior Fed Cup 16s team final (she opened with a win over Alexa Noel, but UKR fell to the U.S. in the deciding doubles), advanced to the singles and doubles finals in her pro circuit debut in the $15K challenger in Chomomorsk, Ukraine.



Kostenko lost to 20-year old countrywoman Anastasiya Shoshyna, who picked up her second straight ITF crown while also winning the doubles, but it was a pro debut nearly (but also not hardly) on par with that of her 15-year old Jr. FC teammate, Dasha Lopatetskaya, who remains undefeated (11-0) in her pro career after winning the title at her first two ITF events earlier this season. On the junior level in 2018, Kostenko has won four singles titles in seven finals on various level (1-1 G2, 0-2 G3, 1-0 G4, 2-0 G5) and picked up seven doubles wins (1 G2, 3 G3, 1 G4, 2 G5).
===============================================


DOUBLES:Andrea S.-Hlavackova/Barbora Strycova, CZE/CZE
...the veteran #2-seeded Czechs -- perhaps gearing up for a role in the Fed Cup final? -- swept to their second '18 title as a duo (in their fifth Premier-level final of the season, and their biggest together so far) defeating the likes of #6-seeded Klepac/Martinez Sanchez, #4 Mertens/Schuurs and #3 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, the latter in a 10-8 match tie-break in the Beijing final. For Strycova, it's her second Premier Mandatory title of the season, having won Indian Wells in a first-time partnership run with Hsieh Su-wei in the spring. It's Strycova's 23rd career title (tenth active), and Hlavackova's 27th (sixth). Hlavackova has reached three China Open finals with three different partners in the last five years, winning with Peng Shuai (2014) and being a runner-up with Timea Babos (2017).

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Totally DONE ??

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===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:--
...no "official" wheelchair winner this week, as the scheduled Series 1 event originally set to take place in France was cancelled. But the Asian Para Games have kicked off in Jakarta this weekend, with Yui Kamiji the top-seeded woman in the singles event. Four years ago in South Korea, she picked up the Bronze. Thailand's Sakhorn Khanthasit is seeking her third consecutive Gold in the event.
===============================================


The Canadian Picasso?

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Tried something new ???? #callmepicasso

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Early Swiss Miss...






1. Beijing Final - Caroline Wozniacki def. Anastasija Sevastova
...6-3/6-3. The anti-"Shock & Awe" final (i.e. no Chinese woman, nor either side of "Boom-shaka-Osaka") in Beijing played out just as one might have expected, with Wozniacki matter-of-factly getting the better of a foe with a similar, but not quite as big-title worthy, game style.
===============================================


2. Beijing QF - Wang Qiang def. Aryna Sabalanka
...7-5/7-5. Wang fought the power, often forcing Sabalenka to hit multiple extra shots per points, and walked away with her third straight Top 20 win, ending the Belarusian's attempt to reach back-to-back Wuhan & Beijing finals, something already pulled off three times since the introduction of the Wuhan event in 2014, by Kvitova ('14), Muguruza ('15) and Garcia ('17).
===============================================
3. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Caroline Garcia
...5-7/7-6(3)/6-0. With this result, defending champ Garcia officially slipped off the 4Q surging Top 10 riser crown that graced her head late in '17, with conqueror Sabalenka one more big result from taking her turn in the role. The Pastry led 7-5/5-2, but was unable to stop the Belarusian's momentum once she started to role late in the 2nd set.



===============================================
4. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Kiki Bertens
...6-4/6-3. Want a brief glimpse into the mindset of Siniakova? This was her reaction after a point in a match that she was leading 6-4/3-1.



Czech, please.
===============================================


5. Beijing 1st Round - Ons Jabeur def. Simona Halep
...6-1 ret.). For good reason, Jabeur just didn't think it was right to celebrate what was technically her biggest career victory.


===============================================
6. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Wang Qiang def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-0/6-0. Ostapenko's first career double-bagel loss, topping her previous career-worst scorelines (2 games won) vs. Kirsten Flipkens (6-2/6-0 - 2015 Istanbul), Tsvetana Pironkova (6-0/6-2 - 2016 Fed Cup) and Petra Kvitova (6-0/6-2 - 2018 Saint Petersburg).


===============================================
7. $25K Brisbane AUS Final - Xu Shilin def. Ellen Perez
...6-4/6-3. Four years ago (well, not quite, as the event was held in August that year... but just go with it), then 16-year old Xu won the Gold in the girls singles at the Youth Olympic Games. The 2018 version of the competition opens in Buenos Aires this week, with fellow Chinese Wang Xiyu the #1 seed in the event. Xu's win in the '14 event in Nanchang began a 17-match, three tournament title winning streak for the one-time #1-ranked junior (she finished '14 at #2 behind CiCi Bellis). Now 20, this is Xu's first singles title of any kind since that stretch.
===============================================
8. $25K Lagos NGR Final - Pranjala Yadlapalli def. Conny Perrin
...2-6/7-5/6-0. The 19-year old Indian teen wins her second pro singles title.


===============================================
HM- $15K Antalya TUR Final - Oona Orpana def. Alexandra Viktorovitch
...6–3/2–6/7–5. An all-Scandinavian battle between 17-year old first-time finalists in Turkey. Fin Orpana -- with consecutive wins over the #5, #1 and #3 seeds -- defeated Swede Viktorovitch for her maiden title, and claimed her first pro WD title, as well, along with Latvian Alise Cernecka via a win over two more regional opponents -- Viktorovitch and countrywoman Lisa Zaar.


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






1. Beijing QF - NAOMI OSAKA def. Zhang Shuai
...3-6/6-4/7-5. Osaka served poorly for much of the match, and was stressed, frustrated and upset. Even after emerging, in Serena-esque fashion, from her funk and staging a comeback from 4-1 down in the 3rd, with Zheng serving at 5-3, she apologized to her opponent/friend for her behavior (something we know she *didn't* learn from her idol). This was just Osaka's second win this season after dropping the 1st set (she's undefeated after taking the match lead). She lost in straights in the next round, dropping to 2-17 after falling behind.


===============================================
2. Beijing SF - Anastasija Sevastova def. NAOMI OSAKA
...6-4/6-4. Osaka seemed about to recover from being BP down while trailing 4-2 in the 2nd. She held, took a MTO to treat her back, saved a GP (via a Sevastova DF, immediately after the Latvian's ninth ace of the day) and broke for 4-4. But she failed to hold her own serve, and Sevastova served out the win.
===============================================
3. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Wang Qiang def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-4/6-4. From 4-1 down in the 3rd, Wang (or "Qiang," as the beIN studio host referred to her in and out of breaks during the match, apparently not grasping the whole Chinese surname-comes-first thing) notched her second straight 4Q win over the Czech. Since her U.S. Open QF run, Pliskova has gone 6-0 vs. everyone else, but 0-2 vs. Wang.
===============================================


HM- $15K Sharm El Sheikh Final - ALEKSANDRA (Ola) PITAK/KATARZYNA (Kasia) PITAK def. Nikola Breckova/Martina Fricova
...6-2/6-1. The British sisters (age 17 and 20, respectively) pick up their second straight ITF crown. Both also reach the QF in singles. Hmmm, I wonder if their new success will give them less time to produce music video covers and how-to tutorials on YouTube?




Win or lose, the "O.K.K.O. Sisters" (for Ola-Kasia, Kasia-Ola, I'm thinking) have trust (and precision) on their side. Yeah, "trust"... that's the word for it. (Oww.)

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


Returns...





And memories...








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@biutifulbyfratelli #beautifulplace??

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???????

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*2018 WTA TITLES*
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
3 - Simona Halep, ROU
3 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
3 - Kiki Bertens, NED
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL
[2016-18]
9 - Elina Svitolina = 1/5/3
8 - Petra Kvitova = 2/1/5
7 - Simona Halep = 3/1/3
7 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI = 2/2/3
7 - Karolina Pliskova = 2/3/2
6 - Kiki Bertens = 1/2/3
5 - Angelique Kerber = 3/0/2
5 - Sloane Stephens = 3/1/1

*2018 WTA CHAMPIONS w/o SET LOST*
[singles]
Guangzhou - Wang Qiang, CHN
BEIJING - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN
[doubles]
Sydney - Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, CAN/CHN
Taipei City - Duan/Wang Yafan, CHN/CHN
Istanbul - Liang Chen/Zhang Shuai, CHN/CHN
Nanchang - Jiang/Tang, CHN/CHN
San Jose - L.Chan/Peschke, TPE/CZE
Hiroshima - Hozumi/Sh.Zhang, JPN/CHN

*RECENT TOP 10 DEBUTS*
=2017=
Elina Svitolina, UKR
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
=2018=
Julia Goerges, GER
Sloane Stephens, USA
Naomi Osaka, JPN
Kiki Bertens, NED

*DUTCH TOP 10ers - by debut season*
1976 Betty Stove (career high: #5, 1977)
1996 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (#6, 1996)
2018 Kiki Bertens (#10, 2018)

*MOST ALL-TIME CAREER WTA TITLES*
167...Martina Navratilova
154...Chris Evert
107...Steffi Graf
92...Margaret Smith-Court
72...Serena Williams
68...Evonne Goolagong
67...Billie Jean King
55...Lindsay Davenport
55...Virginia Wade
53...Monica Seles
49...Venus Williams
43...Justine Henin
43...Martina Hingis
41...Kim Clijsters
36...Maria Sharapova
33...Conchita Martinez
30...Tracy Austin
30...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
29...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
27...Hana Mandlikova
27...Gabriela Sabatini

*#50+ def. #1 - since 2005*
#226 - 2009 Beijing 2r - Zhang Shuai d. Safina
#188 - 2008 U.S. Open 2r - Coin d. Ivanovic
#133 - 2005 Indian Wells F - Clijsters d. Davenport
#133 - 2008 Wimbledon 3r - Zheng Jie d. Ivanovic
#132 - 2009 Tokyo 2r - Chang Kai-chen d. Safina
#116 - 2018 BEIJING 1r - JABEUR d. HALEP
#95 - 2009 Marbella 1r - Zakopalova d. S.Williams
#94 - 2008 Montreal 3r - Paszek d. Ivanovic
#78 - 2014 Charleston 2r - Cepelova d. S.Williams
#76 - 2011 Cincinnati 2r - McHale d. Wozniacki
#73 - 2011 Bastad 2r - Arvidsson d. Wozniacki
#68 - 2017 Rome 2r - Kontaveit d. Kerber
#52 - 2009 U.S. Open 3r - Kvitova d. Safina

*2018 WTA FINALS*
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (3-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-0)
4 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (3-1)
4 - Kiki Bertens, NED (3-1)
4 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-2)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (3-0)
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL (3-0)
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-1)
3 - ANASTASIJA SEVASTOVA, LAT (1-2)
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (1-2)
3 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (1-2)
[2015-18]
19 - 5/3/5/6 Halep (10-9)
17 - 3/2/8/4 WOZNIACKI (8-9)
16 - 5/8/1/2 Kerber (9-7)
15 - 6/4/3/1 Ka.Pliskova (8-7)
13 - 4/3/1/5 Kvitova (11-2)
13 - 5/5/1/2 S.Williams (8-5)
12 - 1/3/5/3 Svitolina (10-2)
[active]
94...Serena Williams (2018:2)
83...Venus Williams (0)
59...Maria Sharapova (0)
54...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (4)
41...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1)
36...Victoria Azarenka (0)

*2018 WTA WD FINALS*
5...Mertens/Schuurs, BEL/NED (3-2)
5...S.-HLAVACKOVA/STRYCOVA, CZE/CZE (2-3)
4...Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE (2-2)
4...Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA (2-2)
4...Klepac/Martinez-Sanchez, SLO/ESP (1-3)
3...DABROWSKI/XU YIFAN, CAN/CHN (2-1)
3...Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS (1-2)
3...Melichar/Peschke, USA/CZE (1-2)
[individuals]
9...Demi Schuurs, NED (7-2)
6...Elise Mertens, BEL (4-2)
6...BARBORA STRYCOVA, CZE (3-3)
6...ANDREA S.-HLAVACKOVA, CZE (2-4)
5...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (2-3)

*CAREER WTA WD TITLES - active*
41 - Sania Mirza, IND (2018:0)
39 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (2)
30 - Kveta Peschke, CZE (2)
29 - Latisha Chan, TPE (1)
27 - Sara Errani, ITA (1)
27 - ANDREA S.-HLAVACKOVA, CZE (2)
26 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0)

*2016-18 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
15 - Latisha Chan, TPE (3/11/1)
14 - Martina Hingism, SUI (5/9 ret.)
12 - ANDREA S.-HLAVACKOVA, CZE (4/6/2)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (5/4/0)
9 - Sania Mirza, IND (8/1/0)
8 - Timea Babos, HUN (0/6/2)
8 - Kiki Bertens, NED (3/4/1)
8 - Johanna Larsson, SWE (4/4/0)
8 - Ekatarina Makarova, RUS (3/3/2)
8 - Demi Schuurs, NED (0/1/7)

*2018 WTA SF*
8 - Simona Halep, ROU (6-1+L)
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-1)
6 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (3-3)
6 - ANASTASIJA SEVASTOvA, LAT (3-3)
5 - CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, DEN (4-1)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (4-1)
5 - NAOMI OSAKA, JPN (3-2)
5 - Elise Mertens, BEL (3-2)
5 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-3)
5 - Angelique Kerber, GER (2-3)
5 - Julia Goerges, GER (2-3)
5 - WANG QIANG, CHN (2-3)

*2018 PREMIER MANDATORY/PREMIER 5 CHAMPIONS*
Doha - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Indian Wells - Naomi Osaka, JPN
Miami - Sloane Stephens, USA
Madrid - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2)
Rome - Elina Svitolina, UKR
Montreal - Simona Halep, ROU
Cincinnati - Kiki Bertens, NED
Wuhan - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Beijing - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
[doubles]
Doha - Dabrowski/Ostapenko, CAN/LAT
Indian Wells - Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE
Miami - Barty/Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
Madrid - Makarova/Vesnina, RUS/RUS
Rome - Barty/Schuurs, AUS/NED
Montreal - Barty (3)/Schuurs, AUS/NED
Cincinnati - Hradecka/Makarova (2), CZE/RUS
Wuhan - Mertens/Schuurs (3), BEL/NED
Beijing - S.-Hlavackova/Strycova (2), CZE/CZE





Trends...




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1 + 1 = 4 ?? #????? #family

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And, geez, hold your horses (or maybe your 'roos?), mate...








TIANJIN, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
=WS FINALS=
2014 Riske d. Bencic
2015 A.Radwanska d. Kovinic
2016 Peng Shuai d. Riske
2017 Sharapova d. Sabalenka
=WD FINALS=
2014 Kudryavtseva/An.Rodionova d. Cirstea/Klepac
2015 Xu Yifan/Zheng d. Jurak/Melichar Saisai
2016 McHale/Peng Shuai d. Linette/Xu Yifan
2017 Begu/Errano d. Jakupovic/Stojanovic
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Ka.Pliskova, #2 Garcia
WD: #1 Begu/Krejcikova, #2 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan



HONG KONG, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
=WS FINALS=
1980 Turnbull d. Louie
1981 Turnbull d. Simmonds
1982 Jexell d. Moulton
1983-92 not held
1993 Wang Shi-ting d. Witmeyer
1994-13 not held
2014 Lisicki d. Ka.Pliskova
2015 Jankovic d. Kerber
2016 Wozniacki d. Mladenovic
2017 Pavlyuchenkova d. Gavrilova
=WD FINALS=
1980 Turnbull/Walsh d. Urroz/Johnson
1981 Kiyomura/Walsh d. Hobbs/Leo
1982 Moulton/DuPont d. Vermaak/Mundel-Reinbold
1983-92 not held
1993 Kschwendt/McQuillan d. Graham/Witmeyer
1994-13 not held
2014 Pliskova/Pliskova d. Mayr-Achleitner/Ar.Rodionova
2015 Cornet/Shvedova d. Arruabarrena/Klepac
2016 Chan/Chan d. Broady/Watson
2017 Chan/Chan d. Lu Jiajing/Wang Qiang
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Svitolina, #2 Osaka (w/d), #3 Ostapenko
WD: #1 A.Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan, #2 Rosolska/Spears



LINZ, AUSTRIA (Int'l/Hard Court Indoor)
=WS FINALS=
1987 Paulus d. Krajcovicova
1988 Svvglerova d. Maruska
1990 Maruska d. Kschwendt
1990 Kratochvilova d. Bueche
1991 Maleeva-Fragniere d. Langrova
1992 Medvedeva d. Paradis-Mangon
1993 Maleeva-Fragniere d. C. Martinez
1994 Appelmans d. Babel
1995 Novotna d. Rittner
1996 Appelmans d. Halard
1997 Rubin d. Habsudova
1998 Novotna d. van Roost
1999 Pierce d. Testud
2000 Davenport d. V.Williams
2001 Davenport d. Dokic
2002 Henin d. Stevenson
2003 Sugiyama d. Petrova
2004 Mauresmo d. Bovina
2005 Petrova d. Schnyder
2006 Sharapova d. Petrova
2007 Hantuchova d.Schnyder
2008 Ivanovic d. Zvonareva
2009 Wickmayer d.Kvitova
2010 Ivanovic d. Schnyder
2011 Kvitova d. Cibulkova
2012 Azarenka d. Goerges
2013 Kerber d. Ivanovic
2014 Pliskova d. Giorgi
2015 Pavlyuchenkova d. Friedsam
2016 Cibulkova d. Golubic
2017 Strycova d. Rybarikova
=WD FINALS=
1987 Hentschi/Schuerhoff
1988 Maruska/Ritter
1990 Dechaume/Paradis
1990 Chaldkova/Kratochvilova
1991 Maleeva-Fragniere/Reggi
1992 Kiene/Oremans
1993 Maniokova/Meskhi
1994 Maniokova/Meskhi
1995 McGrath/Tauziat
1996 Bollegraf/McGrath
1997 Fusai/Tauziat
1998 Fusai/Tauziat
1999 Spirlea/Vis
2000 Mauresmo/Rubin
2001 Dokic/Petrova
2002 Dokic/Petrova
2003 Horn-Huber/Sugiyama
2004 Husarova/Likhovtseva
2005 Dulko/H.-Peschke
2006 Raymond/Stosur
2007 Black/Huber
2008 Srebotnik/Sugiyiama
2009 Groenefeld/Srebotnik
2010 Voracova/Z.-Strycova
2011 Erakovic/Vesnina
2012 Groenefeld/Peschke
2013 Pliskova/Pliskova
2014 Olaru/Tatishvili
2015 Kops-Jones/Spears
2016 Bertens/Larsson
2017 Bertens/Larsson
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Goerges, #2 Bertens
WD: #1 Atawo/Groenefeld, #2 L.Kichenok/Srebotnik



YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES (Buenos Aires, ARG)
=GS FINALS=
2010 GOLD: Dasha Gavrilova/RUS d. Zheng Saisai/CHN
2010 BRONZE: Jana Cepelova/SVK d. Timea Babos/HUN
2014 GOLD: Xu Shilin/CHN d. Iryna Shymanovich/BLR
2014 BRONZE: Akvile Parazinskaite/LTU d. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR
=GD=
2010 GOLD: Zheng Saisai/Tang Haochen d. Jana Cepelova/Chantal Skamlova
2010 BRONZE: Timea Babos/An-Sophie Mestach d. Dasha Gavrilova/Yulia Putintseva
2014 GOLD: Anhelina Kalinina/Iryna Shymanovich d. Dasha Kasatkina/Anastasiya Komardina
2014 BRONZE: Alona Ostapenko/Akvile Parazinskaite d. Sonya Kenin/Renata Zarazua
=MX=
2014 GOLD: Jil Teichmann/Jan Zielinski d. Ye Qiuyu/Jumpei Yamasaki
2014 BRONZE: Fanny Stollar/Kamil Majchrzak d. Ioana Ducu/Matias Zukas
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Wang Xiyu, #2 Liang En-shuo
WD: #1 Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu, #2 Juvan/Swiatek

...it should be quite the competition in the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games, as the likes of three of 2018's junior slam champs (Wang Xiyu, Liang En-shuo and Iga Swiatek) join Kaja Juvan, Wang Xinyu, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, Clara Burel, Alexa Noel, Maria Carle and others in a contest to reach the medal stand.

In the inaugural event eight years ago, while still representing Russia, a 16-year old Dasha Gavrilova defeated Zheng Saisai in the final in Singapore. Unseeded, Gavrilova's highlight win was a straight sets victory over #1-seeded Elina Svitolina in the 2nd Round.



And, finally...



Also... it caught my eye, eventually, while perusing the Pitak sisters videos, and I thought it was mighty interesting...



All for now.
↧
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Wk.41- To Swing in Asia (and Linz)

October 14, 2018, 7:35 pm
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Pastry wishes...



And Ukrainian dreams...



The WTA season is almost over, but there's still more than enough story to go around.



*WEEK 41 CHAMPIONS*
TIANJIN, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Caroline Garcia/FRA def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 7-6(7)/6-3
D: Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke (USA/CZE) def. Monique Adamczak/Jessica Moore (AUS/AUS) 6-4/6-2
HONG KONG, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Dayana Yastremska/UKR def. Wang Qiang/CHN 6-2/6-1
D: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN) def. Shuko Aoyama/Lidziya Marozava (JPN/BLR) 6-4/6-4
LINZ, AUSTRIA (Int'l/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Camila Giorgi/ITA def. Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS 6-3/6-1
D: Kirsten Flipkens/Johanna Larsson (BEL/SWE) def. Raquel Atawo/Anna-Lena Groenefeld (USA/GER) 4-6/6-4 [10-5]
YOUTH OLMYMPIC GAMES (Buenos Aires/Hard Court)
Singles Gold: Kaja Juvan/SLO def. Clara Burel/FRA
Singles Bronze: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL def. Wang Xinyu/CHN
Doubles Gold: Kaja Juvan/Iga Swiatek (SLO/POL) def. Yuki Naito/Naho Sato (JPN/JPN)
Doubles Bronze: Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu (CHN/CHN) def. Maria Carle/Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (ARG/COL)
Mixed Gold: Yuki Naito/Naoki Tajima (JPN/JPN) def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/Nicolas Mejia (COL/COL)
Mixed Bronze: Clara Burel/Hugo Gaston (FRA/FRA) def. Lulu Sun/Damien Wenger (SUI/SUI)



PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Caroline Garcia/FRA
...Garcia finally had the week that she's been wanting (needing, really) for a while now.



Garcia's brilliant back-half of the season run a year ago pushed the French woman into the Top 20 and Top 10, earned her the Wuhan and Beijing titles in back-to-back weeks, her maiden appearance in the WTA Finals and, over the course of '18, provided the foundation for a climb that topped out at #4 last month. With the inability to produce results suitable enough to hold her position, Garcia finally dropped outside the Top 10 last week for the first time in a year after failing to defend either of her big ticket titles from last fall. Worse, Garcia often found herself faltering down the stretch in big moments and losing the sort of tight matches that winning had helped her establish her *new* name last season. Case in point: last week's Beijing defeat at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka, despite having held a 7-5/5-2 lead.

With time running out on a "season-righting" (saving?) result in a consistent-but-unspectacular campaign, Garcia's title run in Tianjin, her first in a year that hadn't even seen a final since Beijing last October (or a SF since Madrid in the spring), arrived just in the nick of time. Granted, Garcia had a good draw. Early wins over a pair of qualifiers was followed by Petra Martic's 2nd set retirement. But her straight sets victories over Hsieh Su-wei and Karolina Pliskova more than gave her title run merit. For a player who thrives as much or more on a rising confidence level as any player on tour, Tianjin likely erases any pesky doubts that may have kicked in during a long offseason staring at a trophy case that hadn't added any new hardware since positively demanding addition space in the room at this time last year, as well as Garcia potentially allowing moments of silence spent contemplating how she dealt (or hadn't) with 2018's higher level of expectation. In the "in between months," it might have gotten the better of her and led to a slow start next season. Even any potential issues with Garcia's father remaining her coach may now never surface, after a series of moments occurred during the season in which she seemed sent off the rails and saw her performance suffer in matches *after* a court-side visit from Louis-Paul. Whether a change -- or an addition -- needed to made was an legitimate topic of discussion.

Now, though, those "worst case scenarios" may have been averted with one shining week.

It could be the difference between a Konta-esque step-back in '19 and one that could go a substantial way toward proving correct some of what Andy Murray saw in Garcia all those years ago one afternoon in Paris.
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RISERS:Camila Giorgi/ITA, Wang Qiang/CHN and Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...from her off-court squabbles with Italy's tennis federation, and sometimes "above-it-all" commentary ("I don't watch tennis") that might be seen by some as indifference, Giorgi has always, above all else, been a ball-striking fighter between the lines. She's often seemed snake bit, and even lost two early finals after holding MP while seeking her maiden tour title. She finally got win #1 at Rosmalen in 2015. It took until this weekend for her to finally get #2 and show that that tough exterior *can* be punctured a bit under the right circumstances.



In a event that saw just one seeded player reach the semifinal stage, #5 Giorgi rose above the field in Linz, dropping just a single set (QF-Gasparyan) while handling the likes of Pauline Parmentier, Jil Teichmann, Alison Van Uytvanck and streaking qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova (in the final, her first since April '16) in straights. The win will bump Giorgi up to a new career high of #28, as in a season of transition for Italian women's tennis (with Vinci and Schiavone retiring, and Errani on suspension), Giorgi is the first tour singles champ from Italy this year.



Wang has been Asia's superstar during this fall's 4Q swing. While she didn't pick up her third title of the season in Hong Kong (which would be a Chinese first, as Li Na never won more than two), she put down another big result in what has been a remarkable run. Wins over Zhang Ling, Christina McHale, Elina Svitolina (who ended her U.S. Open run in the 3rd Rd.) and Garbine Muguruza (after finishing off the Ukrainian earlier in the day on Saturday to wrap up their rain-interrupted QF) put Wang into her third final of the season (all in China). It was her fifth consecutive SF-or-better result since successfully defending her Asian Games Gold this summer and then ushering the "First Seed Out" at Flushing Meadows (the second time she'd done that in a major in '18). She'll achieve *another* career high ranking this week, climbing to #23.



Pliskova seemed destined to pick up her second 4Q title in Asia in Tianjin. The #1 seed, she continued her late summer/early fall momentum-riding wave to her third '18 final with wins over Varvara Lepchenko, Polona Hercog, Katie Boulter and Timea Bacsinszky. But Caroline Garcia got the best of the Czech in a straight sets final, handing Pliskova her first defeat in a final since 2016 after winning five straight championship matches.


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SURPRISES:Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS and Kristina Kucova/SVK
...23-year old Hordette Alexandrova has made a series of minor breakthroughs in recent seasons, including qualifying to make her tour (Katowice) and slam debuts (Wimbledon) in '16 and going on to since record MD wins at all four majors, winning a WTA 125 Series title ('16) and climbing into the Top 70 ('17). But the Russian has stepped things up this fall. She reached her initial WTA QF in Seoul after notching her first career Top 10 win (Alona Ostapenko). This week, ranked at #119, she sent to Linz and, as has often been her path toward a breakthrough, she qualified with wins over Mona Barthel and Mandy Minella. She followed up with victories over Katerina Siniakova, Johanna Larsson and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach her first SF, then knocked off Andrea Petkovic (sealing the win with a MP ace) to reach her maiden final. She fell in straight sets to Camila Giorgi, but will climb 32 spots to #87 in Monday's new rankings.



Kucova had her best season two years ago in 2016, a campaign highlighted by a surprise SF run in Montreal and her first Top 100 finish. The '07 U.S. Open junior champ seemed on her way to something bigger, only to fall victim to injury the following season. She returned in January after a five-month absence. She's mostly toiled on the challenger level in '18, while using her protected ranking on occasion for tour events. She sparked in March with a $25K final, and again in late summer with back-to-back $25K QF/SF results in her two most recent outings. This week in Hong Kong, again utilizing her PR as she stood at #317, the Slovak recorded her first WTA MD win in over a year against Ostapenko (whose wrist injury and own inconsistency has had a hand in delivering quite a few "career memory" moments to lower ranked players lately), and then reached the QF with a victory over LL Viktoriya Tomova. Kucova lost to eventual champ Dayana Yastremska. The trio of good weeks won't immediately right the 28-year's old path, but she's managed to climb nearly 100 ranking spots during the span, including a 49-spot jump on Monday to #268.


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VETERANS:Andrea Petkovic/GER and Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
...Petkovic's under-the-radar resurgence over the course of the '18 season added yet another good run in Linz, where the 31-year old wild card recipient began the week by recording her second Top 10 win of the season by saving a MP and taking out countrywoman Julia Goerges, staging a comeback from 6-1/4-1 down and saving a MP. She added a win over another German, Tatjana Maria, and performed her usual put-down of Kristina Mladenovic (improving to 7-0 vs. the Pastry, winning 14 of 15 sets) to reach her third tour-level SF since August. She fell in three sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova, but is now 8-3 in her last three events, and 12-7 since her final four run in Washington before the U.S. Open. She'll be up fifteen spots to #67 this week.



Winners are grinners, and Sammy and Shuai were sporting as much from ear-to-ear this weekend in Hong Kong. I know I've been something of a broken record when it's come to the Aussie over the past year, so it's great to see at least a *small* sign that she *may* be starting to do what I've been calling for for a while now -- for her to return to her fabulous early-career doubles roots (#1 ranking, 20+ titles, including five slam titles and five finals to go along with her slam-winning singles success) -- for the final stretch of her career, which could still be Hall of Fame worthy if she could even come close to a Hingis-like final chapter.

Stosur's late-season teaming with Zhang appears to have clicked. While they've been infrequent partners over the years, they first teamed up in 2013 and reached a final in their debut event in Osaka that season. Their U.S. Open semifinal this summer run may have set the stage for something more. In Hong Kong, they took the title without dropping a set, taking out Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya early, and finishing things off with a 6-4/6-4 win in the final over Shuko Aoyama/Lidziya Marozova. For Stosur, 34, it's career win #25 (in her 39th final), but her first since taking the Kremlin Cup with Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2013. 29-year Zhang now has seven tour-level WD title runs, but three this season alone with three different partners. In fact, she's teamed with different partners in her last seven doubles finals, and has played with eleven different women while reaching her thirteen career finals (only Stosur and Kimiko Date, with two finals each, have joined her more than once). Zhang also reached the singles semis in Hong Kong, falling to Dayana Yastremska.
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COMEBACKS:Timea Bacsinszky/SUI and Margarita Gasparyan/RUS
...Bacsinszky's injury-related absence (July '17 to early February '18 with a wrist injury) finally crushed her ranking this spring, as in one week she fell from #63 to outside the Top 300 after Roland Garros. The former Top 10er was #751 in August, and without a singles win since last year's Wimbledon. The 29-year old Swiss finally got on the board with a $80K final run in September, and followed up with a $60K QF. Still, she arrived (at #329 and using her protected ranking) in Tianjin without a tour-level MD win in sixteen months. Well, she made up for lost time. Danielle Collins, who'd just beaten her in Beijing, retired from their 1st Round match to end Bacsinszky's long drought. She posted a comeback win from a set down vs. another player recently searching for her form, Misaki Doi, and then toppled a Gen PDQ giant in Aryna Sabalenka, finally ending the Belarusian's lingering WTAF hopes, to reach her first tour-level SF since last year's RG. She lost to Karolina Pliskova, but has now managed to step back out into the light before the end of her '18 season. She'll be at #238 this week.



While the 4Q has often been about players named Wang, Sabalenka, Pliskova and Wozniacki in recent weeks, one shouldn't overlook (as the WTA did this week) the comeback of Gasparyan. The 24-year old Russian wasn't on the list of Comeback Player of the Year nominees (Serena, Tomljanovic and, somewhat less credibly, Mattek-Sands and, in a real misfire, Bencic were) released by the tour this week, she *should* have been. She proved it this week in Linz. Still using her protected ranking after undergoing three knee surgeries, Gasparyan played her first event since winning her first title in three years in Tashkent. She knocked off Monica Puig then, even while playing with a wonky ankle and having to come back from break down in the 3rd set, recorded her first career Top 10 win over Kiki Bertens even while the Dutch woman was fighting for a berth in the WTA Finals. She ultimately lost to eventual champ Camila Giorgi in three sets in the QF, but will see her ranking get another double-digit bump up to #124 this coming week. She was outside the Top 1000 in April, and the Top 500 in July.



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FRESH FACES:Dayana Yastremska/UKR and Katie Boulter/GBR
...you could almost *feel* the restless urges seeking to explode through the skin of Yastremska in recent months when, after trying but failing to get through slam qualifying to reach her maiden MD at a major (and losing a $100K final, her second such loss of '18, that would have earned her a SW19 wild card), she then had to watch her generational junior counterparts reach tour finals (Potapova) or win titles (Danilovic). The 18-year old Ukrainian, a Wimbledon girls finalist two years ago, finally made her slam debut at this summer's U.S. Open and climbed into the Top 100 for the first time. In Hong Kong, she took things to a whole other level.



The 18-year old who'd never before reached a tour semi, became the second youngest WTA singles champ (behind Danilovic) of '18, and she did it in style. Yastremska never lost a set while taking out Fanny Stollar, Zheng Saisai, Kristina Kucova and Zhang Shuai to reach her maiden final. She then took out Asian swing superstar Wang Qiang 2 & 1 to become the eighth first-time tour champion of the season. She'll jump to #66 on Monday, making her the second highest ranked teenager on tour (#51 Sonya Kenin) and the highest ranked age 18-or-under.

Now, getting her out of Hong Kong...



In a week where *two* of Backspin's leading contenders for 2019's "Name You'll Know..." pick (Boulter & Kaja Juvan) posted noteworthy achievements, the 22-year old Leicester native put herself in the running for Britain's top-ranked woman. In Tianjin, Boulter recorded her biggest career win with a 1st Round victory over #42 Maria Sakkari, then followed it up with another over Barbora Krejcikova. In her second career WTA QF (w/ Nottingham this summer), she nearly brought the house down, only to fall to top-seeded Karolina Pliskova 5-7/6-0/6-3.

Boulter will post her first Top 100 ranking (#96) on Monday, not far behind British #2 Heather Watson (#89), with top-ranked Jo Konta (#44) now yet again seeking her third coach in three years.

View this post on Instagram

Those top ?? debut feels ???? (on Monday ??)

A post shared by Katie Boulter (@katiecboulter) on


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DOWN:Belinda Bencic/SUI
...while this year's nominees for the tour's official awards are a generally good lot, there *was* one sore thumb in the mix -- Bencic being included as one of the eventual non-winners (since we know Serena will take the honor) for Comeback Player of the Year. Fittingly, to open the week Bencic did what she's done most of this season. She lost early. The Swiss fell in the Linz 1st Round to Vera Lapko by the ignominious scoreline of 1-6/6-1/6-0. After out-pointing the Belarusian 30-18 in the opening set, Bencic lost 49 of 69 points in the final two sets. The defeat was Bencic's sixth straight loss, with her only win since mid-August coming in a 2nd Round match vs. Camila Giorgi in New Haven (*after* losing in qualifying, then getting a 1st Round bye as a LL).

What the tour overlooked while including Bencic on the nominee list is that her current Top 50 ranking is propped up by one great lower level stretch in challengers between the end of the '17 season and Week 1 of 2018. Remember, Bencic's run of a $100K SF, two WTA 125 titles and a $100K win (18-1 overall) gave her a golden glow in late December, and still accounts for 520 of her 1147 rankings points. While her current ranking is substantially better than it was one year ago (#228 this past week in '17), she hasn't come close to carrying over her momentum into the actual season. With the Linz loss, she fell to 11-19 since January, and stood at 9-15 in WTA MD and Fed Cup WG matches for the season. Does that sound like a "Comeback Player of the Year" nominee? Certainly not when compared to, say, someone like the not nominated Margarita Gasparyan, who returned from near-retirement and three knee surgeries to win a 4Q tour title and, days after the nominations, record her first career Top 10 win.

Will Bencic even play during the winter this year, and lose all those points? She played last year because she missed much of '17, was finally healthy and needed to improve her ranking. Assuming she doesn't lose *all* those rankings points, and only say maybe 400, she'd drop outside the Top 80. If you subtract 520 points from her current numbers, she'd almost be outside the Top 100.

Bencic has thus far won two qualifying matches this weekend in Luxembourg, but will need another to reach the MD in her final tour-level outing of '18.
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ITF PLAYER:Pranjala Yadlapalli/IND
...at Lagos, Nigeria the 19-year old Yadlapalli wins her second of back-to-back $25K titles in the city, once again defeating Swiss Conny Perrin in the final for the second straight week. She's won all three of her career ITF titles since July of last year. With a 109-spot jump on Monday to #340, Yadlapalli will be the third-ranked Indian woman in singles, behind Ankita Raina (#201) and Karman Thandi (#215).


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JUNIOR STAR:Kaja Juvan/SLO
...while she never quite climbed the junior ladder (reaching #5, never winning a MD girls slam singles match in her career), Juvan has been quite successful in pro challengers (3-2 in '18 finals, reaching the WTA Top 200). But at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, the 17-year old finally had *her moment* against her age group peers in her only junior event of the season. With the top two seeds (#1 Wang Xiyu and #2 Liang En-shuo, both '18 girls slam winners) falling early, the Slovenian teenager virtually coasted upon a consistently fine wave throughout the week. The #4 seed, Juvan dropped just one set en route to the singles Gold (QF vs. Russia's Oksana Selekhmeteva), double-bageling Viktoriia Dema in the 2nd Round, defeating #5 Wang Xinyu 6-0/7-5 in the semis and then #7 Clara Burel (a two-time '18 girls slam finalist who'd defeated #3 Iga Swiatak and #6 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano while not dropping a set on her way to the final) by a 7-5/6-4 score in the Gold Medal Match.

The Sunday singles win allowed Juvan to sweep the singles and doubles Golds at the event, as the '17 Wimbledon girls doubles champ (w/ Olga Danilovic) had already previously won her maiden medal alongside Swiatek. After winning every set on their way to the final match, the duo battled past Yuki Naito & Naho Sato via a 6-7(5)/7-5 [10-4] scoreline to climb atop the medal stand.



While Juvan was the only tennis double Gold medalist in Buenos Aires, she wasn't the only teen with multiple medals in the competition. Silver medalist Burel also won Bronze in mixed doubles, Yuki Naito won mixed Gold and doubles Silver, while Colombia's Osorio Serrano won Bronze in singles and Silver in mixed (while also dropping the doubles Bronze Match with Maria Carle to Wang/Wang).


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DOUBLES:Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke (USA/CZE) and Kirsten Flipkens/Johanna Larsson (BEL/SWE)
...the multi-generational duo of Melichar & Peschke have become a force in a season without a truly dominant (*and* consistent) doubles partnership. The two teamed in Tianjin to reach their fourth '18 final on a third different surface, winning their second title after taking a pair of 3rd set TB (in the 1st Rd. and semis) before defeating Monique Adamczak & Jessica Moore 6-4/6-2 in the final.

2018 has been 25-year old Czech-born Melichar's career season, as she's won two of her three career WD titles, reached a slam final and won a mixed slam (both at Wimbledon), as well as having reached the doubles Top 20 for the first time. Peschke, 43, has won three '18 titles (she picked up another with Latisha Chan), giving her 31 in a career that began with her pro debut in April 1993. A debut, by the way, that came just two months before that of Melichar. And by "debut" I mean Melichar was *born* in July that year.



In Linz, Larsson pulled off a rare three-peat, defending along with Flipkens the WD crown she'd won the last two years with Kiki Bertens. Playing in their fifth overall final as a duo (since 2016), #3-seeded Flipkens/Larsson dropped just one set all week while defeating the likes of #2 L.Kichenok/Srebotnik and #1 Atawo/Groenefeld in a 10-5 match TB in the final. It's 32-year old Flipkens' 13th title (second in '18) and Larsson's 14th. In a era where many players freelance in doubles, reaching finals with a variety of partners, the Swede's recent doubles career has essentially existed almost exclusively (at least when she's been successful) with just *two* partners. From 2015-18, all seventeen of her WD finals have come with either Bertens (9-3) or Flipkens (2-3) by her side.


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WHEELCHAIR:Yui Kamiji/JPN
...at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta, world #2 Kamiji improved on the Bronze medal she won in the event four years ago, taking the Gold with a 6-3/6-4 win the final over #21 Zhu Zhenzhen. Zhu had earlier defeated #13 Sakhorn Khanthasit (THA), the winner of the previous two APG competitions. Khanthasit, 46, ended up with no singles medal, losing in the Bronze medal match. In the doubles final, Zhu & Huang Hui Min upset #1-seeded Kamiji & Manami Tanaka in the SF, then Khanthasit & Wanitha Inthanin in the Gold medal final.
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Off-key Offcourt Tennis Encounter of the Week...





Sania...





1. Linz 2nd Rd. - Margarita Gasparyan def. Kiki Bertens
...7-5/2-6/7-6(3). The Russian gets her first career Top 10 win. She broke Bertens to win the 1st set 7-5, then came back from a break down (3-1) in the 3rd, holding games from 15 & love even while dealing with an ankle injury. Bertens' loss may have ended her hopes for the WTAF singles debut, though she'll have another shot this week as she'll be forced into action in Luxembourg to keep her Singapore dream alive.


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2. Hong Kong QF - Wang Qiang def. Elina Svitolina 6-2/6-4
...6-3/6-3. Meanwhile, Svitolina still hasn't officially wrapped up her own Singapore slot (Pliskova and Bertens could still knock her out of the field), despite being determined to play "mean" in order to do it in Hong Kong. She may have gotten a break in this match, as it was called due to rain on Friday with Wang up 6-2/5-2.



As it turned out, Svitolina *did* make things closer, but Wang won anyway, then went back out later and took down Muguruza, 6-7(5)/6-4/7-5, coming back from a break down in the 3rd to get the win.



Meanwhile, Svitolina didn't get a wild card into any of this week's events, so it'll be a waiting game to see if she holds her Singapore spot. If both Pliskova and Bertens reach the semis, Svitolina will have additional reason to be "angry." Meanwhile, her coaching search is officially "on," as Nick Saviano's brief "until the end of the season" run is over, and finding a full-time #1 coach (Andrew Bettles is still around) and trainer will be on the Ukrainian's offseason "To-Do" list.
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3. Linz Final - Camila Giorgi def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...6-3/6-1. Italy is the 22nd different nation to produce a WTA singles champ in 2018.



Speaking of Italians...


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4. Hong Kong Final - Dayana Yastremska def. Wang Qiang
...6-2/6-1. Finally, Yastremska gets something before two-time tour finalist Anastasia Potapova. The two met in a memorable Wimbledon junior final two years ago, with Potapova winning in dramatic fashion, and Yastremska has seemingly been chasing the Russian's accomplishments ever since (except when they won an ITF WD title together in Prague last year). While the Hordette won her first tour WD title in '18 (Moscow WD w/ Zvonareva) and reached two tour-level singles finals, though she lost them both. Things are starting to change. First, Yastremska defeated Potapova (6-1/6-0) in an ITF final earlier this summer, and now this.



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5. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Kristina Kucova def. Alona Ostapenko
...5-7/6-3/6-2. The 21-year old, suffering from a wrist injury, has now lost matches to the world #122 and #317 in her last four events, as well as pulling off the the rare Kristina Kucova (HK) and Kateryna Kozlova (RG 1st Rd. upset) exacta this season.
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6. Tianjin 1st Rd. - Misaki Doi def. Yulia Putintseva 6-0/3-6/7-6(6)
Tianjin 1st Rd. - Timea Bacsinszky def. Danielle Collins 6-3 ret.
Tianjin 2nd Rd. - Timea Bacsinszky def. Misaki Doi 1-6/6-3/7-5
...Doi hadn't won a WTA MD match since Nurnberg '17, while Bacsinszky's drought extended back to last year's Wimbledon. Naturally, after breaking loose of their losing streaks, they had to face off with each other. Those Tennis Gods...
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7. Linz 1st Rd. - Andrea Petkovic def. Julia Goerges
...1-6/7-5/6-4. Down 6-1/4-1, Petko saved a MP (at 5-4) and notched her second Top 10 win of the season. Though it's sort of become her cross to bear, still, you know things are pretty good when the German breaks out the Petko Dance...


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8. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Monica Niculescu def. Ons Jabeur 4-6/7-6(0)/6-4
Hong Kong 2nd Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. Monica Niculescu 6-3/4-6/7-6(3)
...Niculescu gets her first MD win since Indian Wells, despite Jabeur twice serving for the match, breaking the Tunisian at love on both occasions. A round later, the Romanian nearly recovered from a 5-1 3rd set deficit, preventing Gavrilova from serving out the match three times before the Aussie won a deciding TB to end the 2:52 encounter, her first ever with the unique Niculescu game.



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9. Youth Olympics 1st Rd. - Yuki Naito def. #1 Wang Xiyu 7-6(3)/7-5
Youth Olympics 1st Rd. - Daniela Vismane def. #2 Liang En-shuo 7-5/6-2
...and how was *your* opening round? Not good for the reigning '18 U.S. and Australian Open girls champs, respectively.
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10. Linz QF - Andrea Petkovic def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-1/6-3. Kiki is still winless vs. Petko, but at least she notched wins over Harriet Dart and doubles partner Timea Babos. The QF result was her deepest run in a singles draw since Acapulco in February.
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11. Linz 1st Rd. -Alison Van Uytvanck def. Magdalena Rybarikova
...6-3/6-4. Van Uytvanck had lost seven straight matches before her win over Rybarikova. After saving 3 MP in her 2nd Round match, the Belgian knocked off defending champ Barbora Strycova in the QF to get her second win over a DC in '18 (tying her with Sabalenka for the tour lead).
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12. $25K Pula ITA Final - Cristina Dinu/Reka-Luca Jani def. Giorgia Marchetti/Camilla Rosatello 3-6/6-1 [13-11]
$25K Pula ITA SF - Martina Di Giuseppe def. Reka-Luca Jani 3-6/7-6(4)/6-2
...Reka-Luca Jani! Reka-Luca Jani! Reka-Luca Jani! (Hey, it's a tradition.)
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13. Tianjin QF - Timea Bacsinszky def. Aryna Sabalenka
...7-6(2)/7-6(5). Nope. Didn't see that one coming.
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14. $15K Antalya TUR SF - Georgia Andreea Craciun def. Eliessa Vanlangendonck
...7-5/5-7/6-2. The quest continues. 21-year old Belgian Vanlangendonck is *still* seeking her maiden ITF singles final appearance. With this loss, she's now 0-9 in her career. One of these days.
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Your future mixed doubles duo at Wimbledon in 2038...




1. Tianjin Final - Caroline Garcia def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...7-6(7)/6-3. The Pastry ties her head-to-head vs. Pliskova at three wins each, winning her third different Asian-based title ('17 Wuhan & Beijing) over the past two falls. Half of Garcia's six titles have come with straight sets final wins over players who've been ranked #1 ('14 Bogota vs. Jankovic, '17 Beijing vs. Halep).
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2. Linz 2nd Rd. - Alison Van Uytvanck def. ANNA KAROLINA SCHMIEDLOVA
...1-6/7-6(3)/7-6(5). AKS has had a resurgent '18 season, but she's not immune to still dropping the sort of come-from-ahead losses -- such as this one, when she easily swept through the 1st, then dropped back-to-back TB and didn't convert any of three MP -- that high(low?)-lighted her multi-season slump.
===============================================
3. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Ana Bogdan def. CAROLINE DOLEHIDE
...6-7(2)/6-3/7-5. Down 5-0 in the 1st to LL Dolehide, Bogdan nearly pulled out the win. But, have no fear, what goes around often comes around again. The Swarmette fell behind 5-1 in the 3rd, then stormed back to win six straight games, saving three MP in the process en route to the victory.


===============================================
4. $15K Ashkelon QF - LINA GLUSHKO def. ANASTASIA PRIBYLOVA 6-2/6-3
$15K Ashkelon SF - ANNA PRIBLYLOVA def. LINA GLUSHKO 6-3/6-3
$15K Ashkelon ISR Final - ANASTASIA PRIBYLOVA/ANNA PRIBYLOVA def. Dorka Drahota-Szabo/Adrienn Naby 7-5/6-4
...after losing to (and getting revenge against) Julia's sister Lina, the Pribs -- 22-year old Anastasia and 20-year old Anna -- grabbed their first WD title as a pair, and the first as a pro for the younger sister. Anna missed out on a title sweep, dropping the singles final to Israeli Maya Tahan.


===============================================
5. $25K Obidos POR Final - MICHAELLA KRAJICEK/Ingrid Neel def. Cristina Bucsa/Diana Marcinkevica
...6-2/6-2. The Dutch Painter wins ITF WD title #22 to go along with her 3 WTA singles, 5 WTA doubles and 14 ITF singles titles already picked up during her career. Just another chapter to the "Three Generations of Tennis" family story...


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



































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*2018 WTA TITLES w/o LOST SET*
Guangzhou - Wang Qiang, CHN
Beijing - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
TIANJIN - CAROLINE GARCIA, FRA
HONG KONG - DAYANA YASTREMSKA, UKR

*2018 MAIDEN WTA CHAMPIONS*
Indian Wells - Naomi Osaka, JPN (20/#44)
Rosmalen - Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (25/#55)
Mallorca - Tatjana Maria, GER (30/#79)
Moscow MO - Olga Danilovic, SRB (17/#187)
Nanchang - Wang Qiang, CHN (26/#78)
San Jose - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (30/#24)
New Haven - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (20/#25)
HONG KONG - DAYANA YASTREMSKA, UKR (18/#102)

*2018 NATIONS w/ MULTIPLE DIFF. WS CHAMPS*
3 = GER - Goerges,Kerber,Maria
3 = FRA - Cornet,GARCIA,Parmentier
3 = RUS - Gasparyan,Kuznetsova,Pavlyuchenkova
3 = UKR - Svitolina,Tsurenko.YASTREMSKA
2 = BEL - Mertens,Van Uytvanck
2 = CZE - Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova
2 = ROU - Buzarnescu,Halep
2 = SRB - Krunic,Danilovic

*2018 YOUNG WTA FINALISTS*
17 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Hiroshima-L) - 17,2w
17 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (Moscow MO-L) - 17,4m
17 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (Tashkent-L) - 17,6m
17 - Olga Danilovic, SRB (Moscow MO-W) - 17,6m,1w
18 - DAYANA YASTREMSKA, UKR (HONG KONG-W) - 18,5m
19 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Lugano-L) - 19,11m,1w

*2018 WTA PROTECTED RANKING - BEST RESULTS*
W - Tashkent - Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (24, #299)
RU - Gstaad - Mandy Minella, LUX (32, #226)
RU - Wimbledon - Serena Williams, USA (36, #181, #25 seed)
SF - Taipei City - Sabine Lisicki, GER (28, #246)
SF - TIANJIN - TIMEA BACSINSZKY, SUI (29, #329)

*2018 WTA FINALS - RUS*
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (0-2)
2 - Anastasia Potapova (0-2)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (1-0)
1 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-0)
1 - Margarita Gasparyan (1-0)
1 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (0-1)
[WTA 125]
1 - Irina Khromacheva (1-0)
1 - Sofya Zhuk (0-1)

*2018 WTA CHAMPINOS - longest since last title*
9y,9m,1w = Pauline Parmentier [7/08 B.Gastein > 4/18 Istanbul]
6y = Hsieh Su-wei [9/12 Guang > 9/18 Hiroshima]
3y,4m = CAMILA GIORGI [6/15 Rosmalen > 10/18 LINZ]
3y,1m = Margarita Gasparyan [8/15 Baku > 9/18 Tashkent]

*2018 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
9...Demi Schuurs, NED (7-2)
6...Elise Mertens, BEL (4-2)
6...Barbora Strycova, CZE (3-3)
6...Andrea S.-Hlavackova, CZE (2-4)
5...KVETA PESCHKE, CZE (3-2)
5...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (2-3)
5...KIRSTEN FLIPKENS, BEL (2-3)

*2018 OLDEST WTA WD TITLE DUOS*
71 - L.Chan/Peschke (28/43) = San Jose
68 - MELICHAR/PESCHKE (25/43) = TIANJIN
68 - Rosolska/Spears(32/36) = Nottingham
67 - Klepac/Martinez Sanchez (32/35) = Mallorca
67 - Kudryavtseva/Srebotnik (30/37) = Charleston
67 - Atawo/Groenefeld (35/32) = Stuttgart
66 - Melichar/Peschke (24/42) = Prague

*2018 REPEAT WTA WD TITLE WINNERS*
Raquel Atawo, USA - Stuttgart 2017-18
Kveta Peschke, CZE - Prague 2017-18
Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU - Bucharest 2017-18
Jiang/Tang, CHN/CHN - Nanchang 2017-18
JOHANNA LARSSON, SWE - LINZ 2016-17

*2018 WTA SF*
8 - Simona Halep, ROU (6-1+L)
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-1)
6 - WANG QIANG, CHN (3-3)
6 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (3-3)
6 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (3-3)
[nations]
21 - USA
18 - ROU
17 - GER (Wk.41: Petkovic)
15 - CZE (Ka.Pliskova)
13 - CHN (Q.Wang,Sh.Zhang)
11 - RUS (Alexandrova)
[low-ranked]
#329 - TIMEA BACSINSZKY/SUI (TIANJIN)
#299 - Margarita Gasparyan/RUS (Tashkent) - W
#246 - Sabine Lisicki/GER (Taipei City)
#227 - Jessica Pegula/USA (Quebec City) - F
#226 - Mandy Minella/LUX (Gstaad) - F
#204 - Anastasia Potapova/RUS (Moscow MO) - F
#187 - Olga Danilovic/SRB (Moscow MO) - W
[2015-18]
30 - Halep = 9/6/7/8
27 - Kerber = 8/11/3/5
27 - KA.PLISKOVA = 8/6/8/5
24 - Wozniacki = 7/4/8/5
23 - Svitolina = 6/7/6/4
20 - MUGURUZA = 5/3/7/5
20 - A.Radwanska = 8/9/2/1

*YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES SINGLES MEDALS*
[Gold]
2010 Dasha Gavrilova, RUS
2014 Xu Shilin, CHN
2018 Kaja Juvan, SLO
[Silver]
2010 Zheng Saisai, CHN
2014 Iryna Shymanovich, BLR
2018 Clara Burel, FRA
[Bronze]
2010 Jana Cepelova,SVK
2014 Akvile Parazinskaite, LTU
2018 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
[4th]
2010 Timea Babos, HUN
2014 Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
2018 Wang Xinyu, CHN






Now we're getting somewhere...








MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Premier/Hard Court Indoor)
=WS FINALS=
1996 Conchita Martinez d. Barbara Paulus
1997 Jana Novotna d. Ai Sugiyama
1998 Mary Pierce d. Monica Seles
1999 Nathalie Tauziat d. Barbara Schett
2000 Martina Hingis d. Anna Kournikova
2001 Jelena Dokic d. Elena Dementieva
2002 Magdalena Maleeva d. Lindsay Davenport
2003 Anastasia Myskina d. Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Anastasia Myskina d. Elena Dementieva
2005 Mary Pierce d. Francesca Schiavone
2006 Anna Chakvetadze d. Nadia Petrova
2007 Elena Dementieva d. Serena Williams
2008 Jelena Jankovic d. Vera Zvonareva
2009 Francesca Schiavone d. Olga Govortsova
2010 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Kirilenko
2011 Dominika Cibulkova d. Kaia Kanepi
2012 Caroline Wozniacki d. Samantha Stosur
2013 Simona Halep d. Samantha Stosur
2014 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova d. Irina-Camelia Begu
2015 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2016 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Dasha Gavrilova
2017 Julia Goerges d. Dasha Kasatkina
=WD CHAMPIONS=
1996 Medvedeva/Savchenko
1997 Sanchez/Zvereva
1998 Pierce/Zvereva
1999 Raymond/Stubbs
2000 Halard-Decugis/Sugiyama
2001 Hingis/Kournikova
2002 Dementieva/Husarova
2003 Petrova/Shaughnessy
2004 Myskina/Zvonareva
2005 Raymond/Stosur
2006 Peschke/Schiavone
2007 Black/Huber
2008 Petrova/Srebotnik
2009 Kirilenko/Petrova
2010 Dulko/Pennetta
2011 King/Shvedova
2012 Makarova/Vesnina
2013 Kuznetsova/Stosur
2014 Hingis/Pennetta
2015 Kasatkina/Vesnina
2016 Hlavackova/Hradecka
2017 Babos/Hlavackova
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Ka.Pliskova
WD: #1 Begu/Buzarnescu, #2 Atawo/Groenefeld



LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG (Int'l/Hard Court Indoor)
=WS FINALS=
1996 Anke Huber d. Karina Habsudova
1997 Amanda Coetzer d. Barbara Paulus
1998 Mary Pierce d. Silvia Farina Elia
1999 Kim Clijsters d. Dominique Van Roost
2000 Jennifer Capriati d. Magdalena Maleeva
2001 Kim Clijsters d. Lisa Raymond
2002 Kim Clijsters d. Magdalena Maleeva
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Chanda Rubin
2004 Alicia Molik d. Dinara Safina
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
2006 Alona Bondarenko d. Francesca Schiavone
2007 Ana Ivanovic d. Daniela Hantuchova
2008 Elena Dementieva d. Caroline Wozniacki
2009 Timea Bacsinszky d. Sabine Lisicki
2010 Roberta Vinci d. Julia Goerges
2011 Victoria Azarenka d. Monica Niculescu
2012 Venus Williams d. Monica Niculescu
2013 Caroline Wozniacki d. Annika Beck
2014 Annika Beck d. Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova
2015 Misaki Doi d. Mona Barthel
2016 Monica Niculescu d. Petra Kvitova
2017 Carina Witthoeft d. Monica Puig
=WD CHAMPIONS=
1996 Boogert/Tauziat
1997 Neiland/Sukova
1998 Likhovtseva/Sugiyama
1999 Spirlea/Vis
2000 Fusai/Tauziat
2001 Bovina/Hantuchova
2002 Clijsters/Husarova
2003 Sharapova/Tanasugarn
2004 Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2005 Raymond/Stosur
2006 Peschke/Schiavone
2007 Benesova/Husarova
2008 Cirstea/Erakovic
2009 Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova
2010 Bacsinszky/Garbin
2011 Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova
2012 Hlavackova/Hradecka
2013 Vogt/Wickmayer
2014 Bacsinszky/Barrois
2015 Barthel/Siegemund
2016 Bertens/Larsson
2017 Kerkhove/Marozava
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Goerges, #2 Muguruza
WD: #1 L.Kichenok/Srebotnik, #2 Flipkens/Larsson


And, finally...





All for now.
↧

Wk.42- To Russia with Dasha

October 21, 2018, 3:21 pm
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For 2018, the moments just keep on coming.






*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (KREMLIN CUP) (Premier/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS def. Ons Jabeur/TUN 2-6/7-6(3)/6-4
D: Alexandrova Panova/Laura Siegemund (RUS/GER) d. Darija Jurak/Raluca Olaru (SLO/ROU) 6-2/7-6(2)
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG (Int'l/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Julia Goerges/GER def. Belinda Bencic/SUI 6-4/7-5
D: Alison Van Uytvanck/Greet Minnen (BEL/BEL) d. Mandy Minella/Vera Lapko (LUX/BLR) 7-6(3)/6-2




PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...while she's still got many items to cross off her list (and she may well take care of many of those in the not too distant future), Kasatkina accomplished one of her dreams this weekend in Moscow at the Kremlin Cup.

Winning on Russian soil has always been an important thing for the swashbuckling shotmaker. All you need to do is look at her results in events in her home country over the years to recognize the tangible (and proverbial) "proof in the pudding":

KREMLIN CUP SINGLES: '15 SF, '16 QF, '17 RU, '18 W
KREMLIN CUP DOUBLES: '15 WD W, '16 WD RU
SAINT PETERSBURG SINGLES: '16 SF, '18 SF
$25K MOSCOW DOUBLES: '15 RU

Kasaskina's Kremlin Cup title run this week was one constructed of many moments. A 1st Round win over Lesia Tsurenko was followed by a comeback win over Alize Cornet from a set and a break down, and ignited after coach Philippe Dehaes implored her to become "The Russian Wall."



A win over countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova included *this* shot (Dasha always has at least one -- or three or four, really -- points like this *every* match, it seems)...



In her fifth career final (third of '18), Kasatkina trailed Ons Jabeur 6-2/4-1 and looked about to come up one win short of a title in Moscow for the second straight year. Then...



The rest, as they say, is history.




Career tour title #2 made Kasatkina the sixth different Russian woman to win the Kremlin Cup singles, after players named Myskina(2), Chakvetadze, Dementieva, Pavlyuchenkova and Kuznetsova(2), and it installs her as the first alternate at this week's WTA Finals in Singapore. At #12, she's got a chance to finish off what could still be her first Top 10 campaign on a confidence-building high that could set her up for an even *better* 2019 (remember, until this weekend she was the highest-ranked player on tour without a singles title in '18).

Fear the Kasatkina indeed.

===============================================
RISERS:Anastasija Sevastova/LAT and Johanna Konta/GBR
...a year after Alona Ostapenko's Top 10 finish, Sevastova is threatening to follow in her countrywoman's footsteps. The 28-year old's second half run added another big result at the Kremlin Cup, as after coming back from 3-1 down in the 2nd and 3rd sets to defeat Magdalena Rybarikova in the 1st Round she followed up with wins over Yulia Putintseva and Vera Zvonareva to reach the semifinals. The result pushed the world #11 past Aryna Sabelenka into the first alternate spot for Singapore, then saw Dasha Kasatkina's title run push *her* back to the second alternate slot.

No matter, as she'll still have a chance to make a final Top 10 surge in Zhuhai. The Latvian has reached at least the semis in three of her last four events, and has gone 27-10 since her appearance in the Mallorca final this summer. That run has included a title in Bucharest, another final in Beijing, SF at the U.S. Open and Kremlin Cup, and QF at Montreal and the Moscow Cup.

With her coaching relationship once again in flux, Konta hooked up with potential '19 collaborator Dimitri Zavialoff in Moscow. Whether it means anything for her future, things went pretty well for the Brit (who'd entered riding a three-match losing streak), as she reached just her second semifinal of the season (w/ Nottingham) by stringing together impressive wins over Elise Mertens, Dasha Gavrilova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the latter via a 3rd set TB. This was just her second three-win event since her Wimbledon SF run last season, and her first semi on anything other than English soil since she won the Miami title with back-to-back-to-back wins over Halep, Venus and Wozniacki in '17. Ultimately, she faced off with one Dasha too many in Moscow, falling to eventual champion Kasatkina. Konta will inch back into the Top 40 with the result. A far cry from her back-to-back Top 10 seasons of 2016-17, for sure, but an encouraging sign as she heads into the offseason looking to put this disappointing campaign in her rear view mirror.


===============================================
SURPRISES:Greet Minnen & Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL/BEL
...2018 has seen Van Uytvanck and Minnen go public with their two year relationship *and* both put together what have been their best tennis seasons ever. This weekend in Luxembourg, in their first tournament as a duo (as a WC entry), both Belgian Waffles picked up their maiden WTA WD title with a straight sets win in the final over Mandy Minella & Vera Lapko. The only set they lost all week came in the 1st Round, when they had to go to a 3rd set match tie-break to defeat #4 seeds Dalila Jakupovic & Renata Voracova. They advanced past #2 seeds Kirsten Flipkens & Johanna Larsson, last week's winners in Linz, via a 2nd set retirement in the semis.



Even before this weekend, when #512-ranked WD player Van Uytvanck and #723 Minnen won their first doubles crowns, 2018 has been very good for the couple. Van Uytvanck, 24, reached her career singles high (#37) earlier this year, won the Budapest title, got her first career Top 10 win (#3 Muguruza at Wimbledon) and reached the Round of 16 in London. At #48 this week, she's on course for what would be her second Top 50 finish, and her first since 2015. Meanwhile, 21-year old Minnen has posted 50+ singles wins this season and picked up a career-best four $15K ITF titles.
===============================================
VETERANS:Julia Goerges/GER and Vera Zvonareva/RUS
...when the days get shorter and colder, and things begin to move indoors. That's when Goerges comes out to play.



Over the past two seasons, while she's also reached a slam SF ('18 SW19) and won a title in Auckland (this January), the rise of the soon to be 30-year old German into the Top 10 has been fueled by her results on indoor hard courts in the closing months of the WTA season. Last year, she recorded an undefeated (9-0) fall indoor campaign, taking titles at the Kremlin Cup and Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. This week, Goerges was at it again, taking her third late-season title in the last year in Luxembourg to improve her 2017-18 4Q indoor HC mark to 14-1 (19-3 if you also include her '17 results in Budapest and Biel). This past week, Goerges posted wins over Viktoria Kuzmova, Anna Blinkova, Donna Vekic, Genie Bouchard (the Canadian got within two points of the win) and Belinda Bencic in the final. She's likely still got some work to do to complete her first Top 10 campaign (she finished #14 in '17, and enters Week 43 at #10), as she won't be in Singapore and will have to defend her crown in Zhuhai with the likes of #11 Anastasija Sevastova and #12 Dasha Kasatkina (both WTAF alternates) hot on her trail.

In Moscow, an additional paragraph was added to one of the more under the radar injury/retirement/motherhood-related comeback stories of '18, as 34-year old Zvonareva added still another "first (fill-in-the-blank accomplishment) since..." honor to her season. In this case, the two-time slam finalist and former #2-ranked Russian vet, after making her way through qualifying in the Kremlin Cup event at which she reached the singles final a decade ago, won the doubles fourteen years ago and reached a WD final *fifteen* years ago reached the QF after posting MD wins over Irina Khromacheva and #5 Karolina Pliskova, with the latter win over the Czech being Zvonareva's first over a Top 10 player since 2011 (#1 Wozniacki at the WTA Championships), checking off one of my more obscure preseason predictions, by the way (thanks, Vera!). Zvonareva served for a spot in the semis at 6-4/5-4 against Anastasija Sevastova, only to fall to the Latvian in three. Previous items item on the Hordette's list of '18 highlights have included her first WTA doubles titles (at Saint Petersburg and the Moscow Cup) in six years and her first slam MD victory (U.S. Open) since 2015. She'll climb from #161 to #125 in the next rankings.


===============================================
COMEBACKS:Belinda Bencic/SUI and Genie Bouchard/CAN
...naturally, the week after I dinged Bencic's tour nomination for "Comeback Player of the Year" (an honor won by Serena, as expected) the Swiss then proceeded to go out and put up her best tour-level result in two years. You're welcome, Belinda.



In the same Luxembourg event at which she made her WTA debut at age 14, the now 21-year old Swiss advanced to her first tour-level final since February '16 (Saint Petersburg) -- and first semi since her grass run at Rosmalen that same year -- after initially having to make her way through qualifying just to reach the MD. Coming in riding a six-match losing streak, Bencic notched Q-wins over 17-year old countrywoman Leonie Kung, Gabriela Ruse (3 sets) and Varvara Lepchenko to set the stage for additional victories over Arantxa Rus, Kirsten Flipkens, Vera Lapko and Dayana Yastremska to reach her seventh career WTA final. She lost to Julia Goerges 6-4/7-5, falling to 2-5 in title-deciding matches, but will pick up nearly 200 points with the result and see her ranking climb back into the Top 40. Bencic will end the season (which officially has just two more ranking weeks remaining) somewhere around there, so her season-to-season jump will be significant, as she finished '17 at #165. Challenger events will continue to be played through December, though, and it was during that stretch that Bencic grabbed a boat load of points (500+) last season as she went 18-1.



Also in Luxemboug, Bouchard, now working with Michael Joyce, got the partnership off to a good start. A qualifying run (which included a Q1 three-setter vs. Swarmette Raluca Georgiana Serban) was backed up by far more impressive outings, including a 4 & 2 win over Timea Babos, 1 & love domination of Carla Suarez-Navarro and a retirement win over Andrea Petkovic to reach her second '18 semi (Gstaad in July, which was her first since Sydney in January '17). The Canadian got within two points of a victory over Goerges, but fell to the eventual tournament champ. Bouchard will jump from #108 to #84 this coming week, still a clip below her #81 finish from a year ago (and a long way from her #7 ranking in '14) but likely setting her up for a sixth straight Top 100 season.



===============================================
FRESH FACES:Ons Jabeur/TUN and Dayana Yastremska/UKR
...Jabeur has been an offseason training partner of Dasha Kasatkina for a while now. Hmmm... you'd never know it by watching her, huh?



As things turned out, the Russian herself would eventually be the only thing in Moscow standing in the way of (another) one of the 2018's most history-making weeks for the 24-year old Tunisian.

Jabeur had barely made it out of qualifying, with her Q2 win over Harriet Dart coming via a 3rd set TB. Once she entered the MD, though, her focus and shotmaking ultimately proven to be more lethal than, well, all but *one* player. Yeah, her. Jabeur opened things with a victory over Ekaterina Makarova, a win which came her way even while she was so preoccupied with her own game that she lost contact with the scoreboard.



Then, a few weeks after getting that win over #1 Simona Halep in Beijing when the Romanian retired with the back injury that ended her season, Jabeur took out (a disengaged?) Sloane Stephens 3 &2 before advancing past Anett Kontaveit (becoming TUN's first tour-level semifinalist) and Anastasija Sevastova to reach her maiden singles final. There, she led (dominated, really) a frustrated Kasatkina 6-2/4-1 before the Russian, as she often does, found a way to hunker down and seize control of the match. Still, with Kasatkina serving for the title up 5-3 in the 3rd, Jabeur got the break of serve to extend the match. But the signs of trouble (bending over at the waist and grabbing her leg) the Tunisian was showing in that game ended up dooming her changes after the changeover. Cramping badly, she was barely able to move around the court, let alone effectively serve, as she dropped the game without much push-back to end the match, then had to be helped to her seat by her concerned friend Dasha and a trainer.




Jabeur will leap 38 spots to a near career high of #63 this week.

Meanwhile, a week after winning her maiden tour title in Hong Kong, 18-year old Yastremska still wasn't satisfied. She ran off three more wins -- over Varvara Lepchenko, Garbine Muguruza and Margarita Gasparyan -- to extend her winning streak to eight matches before finally ending her season in a 3rd set TB defeat at the hands of Belinda Bencic. Up to another career high of #60 on Monday, the highest ranked teenager on tour has now gotten a taste of tour-level success. It's already pretty clear that her lingering hunger mean she's going to be dining even more often come '19.


===============================================
DOWN:Sloane Stephens/USA
...granted, it's difficult to pick a true "Down" player in a late-season event just before the year-end round robin events, as focus is often waning, winning is "unimportant" and/or unnecessary and, in some cases, maybe even unwise. But I'll still pull Sloane out of that hopper.

Having qualified for Singapore, she no longer needed to win in Moscow. And she didn't, either, losing 3 & 2 to Ons Jabeur in her opening 2nd Round match. While the loss to the then world #101 was Stephens' second worst of the season, coming in only behind a defeat by #108 Stefanie Voegele in Acapulco in February, there *is* another link between the two results. The Voegele loss came in the same event in which Sloane notched two wins, finally ending the post-U.S. Open title eight-match losing streak that had carried over from '17. The Jabeur defeat comes in the event *after* Stephens won two matches in Beijing to finally end her two-season 4Q winless run. With this loss, the Bannerette is now 2-10 in late-season matches after the U.S. Open in the last two years.

Stephens still has the WTA Finals to contend, as well as a likely spot on the U.S.'s Fed Cup final roster (she was 0-2 in the Team USA 3-2 win over BLR last year). Will Beijing continue to be an anomaly? She's in the unenviable position this year of having a winning record vs. her Singapore foes (6-1 vs. her group), as well as having a head-to-head edge vs. every other player in the group of eight other than Caroline Wozniacki.


===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Zheng Saisai/CHN
...Zheng's 2018 season already included a WTA 125 Series title in Zhengzhou, a tour-level final in Nanchang and $50K challenger win before she headed to Suzhou for this past week's $100K event. The 24-year old wrapped up the crown without dropping a set, wrapping things up on Sunday with a 7-5/6-1 win over Jana Cepelova, the oft-injured Slovak who'd come into the event ranked all the way down at #243 and had to make her way through qualifying just to reach the MD (her seven straight wins at the event made for her longest win streak in four years).

The title points will finally push Zheng into the Top 50 for the first time in her career.
===============================================


JUNIOR STAR:Clara Tauson/DEN
...while the top end of Danish women's tennis didn't have much to smile about on Sunday, as WTAF defending champ Caroline Wozniacki dropped her opening round robin match to Karolina Pliskova, #10-ranked junior Tauson had quite the day in another part of Asia. The 15-year old picked up her first career Grade A title at the Osaka Mayor's Cup, winning a final match-up between the top two seeds by defeating China's #2-seeded Zheng Qinwen, herself a two-time Grade 1 champ this season. Already a G1 winner in '18 at Repentigny, CAN and at the Perin Memorial in Croatia (and a Porto Alegre finalist), Tauson will have hard time topping her performance over the past week. To say she dominated the field would be a massive understatement. In all, in six matches, she dropped a *total* of eight games. She lost just a single game -- in her 6-1/6-0 defeat of Zheng -- from the QF on.



===============================================
DOUBLES:Alexandra Panova/Laura Siegemund, RUS/GER
...while Minnen & Van Uytvanck had a comparably easy time of things in Luxembourg, Panova & Siegemund had to go the distance (multiple times) en route to winning their first WTA WD title together at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The duo played and survived three 3rd set tie-breaks -- 1st Rd. vs. Pavlyuchenkova/Zvonareva, 2nd Rd. vs. Doroshina/Monova, SF vs. Mladenovic/Voskoboeva -- before finally getting an "easier" 6-2/7-6 final victory over Jurak/Olaru. It's Panova's seventh tour-level doubles win (her first since '15 Tashkent), and improves upon her previous '18 final in the schedule's earlier event in Moscow (a SF with an opponent from *this* week, Galina Voskoboeva). It's Siegemund's fourth win (her last: '15 Luxembourg), and her first tour title since her comeback from last year's knee injury.

While Kasatkina became the sixth Hordette to win the Kremlin Cup singles, Panova is one of eleven to win the doubles. Her title puts her on the list along with the "Russian Tennis Who's Who" likes of Elena Dementieva, Kasatkina, Maria Kirilenko, Anna Kournikova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ekaterina Makarova, Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova (3), Elena Vesnina (2) and Vera Zvonareva.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:---
...no WC winner this week, but as the WTA tour kicks off its year-end event in Singapore, the wheelchair tour has the fields set for both the Masters singles and doubles events to be held separately later this year.

In the singles held in Orlando from November 28-December 2:

1) Diede de Groot, NED (5155)
2) Yui Kamiji, JPN (3985)
3) Aniek van Koot, NED (2948)
4) Sabine Ellerbrock, GER (2561)
5) Kgothatso Montjane, RSA (1854)
6) Giulia Capocci, ITA (1688)
7) Marjolin Buis, NED (1609)
8) Lucy Shuker, GBR (1458)

In the doubles event held in Bemmel, NED from November 14-18:

1) Diede de Groot/Lucy Shuker, NED/GBR
2) Marjolein Buis/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
3) Charlotte Famin/Kgothatso Montjane, FRA/RSA
4) Katharina Kruger/Michaela Spaanstra, GER/NED
5) Momoko Ohtani/Manami Tanaka, JPN/JPN
6) Louise Hunt/Dana Mathewson, GBR/USA

Not sure what the story is with the absence of Kamiji here, as she and de Groot went 9-0 this year, winning four titles (including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open). de Groot & Shuker were 6-0 as a duo. Not that de Groot needs Kamiji to win the event. Her Masters doubles win in '16 was her first big title, and she's won the last two years while partnering Shuker ('16) and Buis ('17) in addition to her four slam WD wins (w/ Buis, van Koot and the two partnering Kamiji) over the last five majors.

Meanwhile...


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









1. Moscow Final - Dasha Kasatkina def. Ons Jabeur
...2-6/7-6(3)/6-4. A match between friends and training partners turned into a battle of highlight reel shots...





Featuring a comeback from 6-2/4-1 down by the Russian, who not for the first time during the week called upon her coach to light a fire under her racket. She stormed back and took control, serving for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd. Jabeur broke Kasatkina for 5-4, but leg cramps in her final service game led to the sort of unfortunate end this match didn't deserve. Though the concern and sportswomanship shown by Kasatkina for her friend/competitor *did* shine a welcome light on the finish.




Kasatkina's win puts Russia alone atop the list of nations with the most (4) different singles champions this season. It's the ninth time the nation has topped (alone or in a tie) a season list since 2007.
===============================================
2. Moscow 1st Round - Alize Cornet def. Natalia Vikhlyantseva 5-7/6-2/7-5
Moscow 2nd Round - Dasha Kasatkina def. Alize Cornet 3-6/7-5/6-4
...Cornet won a 2:45 battle over Vikhlyantseva...



Then saw Kasatkina become "The Russian Wall" and overcome a set and a break deficit en route to winning the title.



And with that, the Pastry dropped the mic on her 2018 campaign...



Soon after, on the beaches of Cannes...


===============================================
3. Moscow SF - Ons Jabeur def. Anastasija Sevastova
...6-3/3-6/6-3. History made.


===============================================
4. Luxembourg Final - Julia Goerges def. Belinda Bencic
...6-4/7-5. Goerges is the 13th different player to win multiple WTA singles titles in 2018. She won two titles from 2010 until August '17. She's won four over the past twelve months.


===============================================
5. Luxembourg 2nd Round - Dayana Yastremska def. Garbine Muguruza
...6-2/6-3. The 18-year old's win over #13 Muguruza sets a new career mark for the Ukrainian.


===============================================
6. Luxembourg 1st Round - Vera Lapko def. Carina Witthoeft
...6-4/5-7/6-4. Defending champ Witthoeft's title defense attempt didn't last long. Meanwhile, another young German's career can now say the same...



===============================================
7. Moscow Q1 - Vlada Koval def. Sabine Lisicki
...3-6/7-5/7-6(4). The 17-year old Russian wild card, ranked #585, takes out the former Wimbledon finalist.

View this post on Instagram

??on the prize????

A post shared by Vlada Koval (@vlada_koval_) on


===============================================
8. Luxembourg Q1 - Jil Teichmann def. Greta Arn
...7-6(8)/6-3. The 18-year age gap between 21-year old Teichmann and 39-year old Arn could fit a whole Olga Danilovic. Speaking of the Serb, she lost in the same round of Luxembourg qualifying to Jessika Ponchet. So, you know, she would have been free to experiment with the notion if she'd only been asked. She's thin... so it may have worked. Opportunity lost, I say.
===============================================
9. $15K Antalya TUR Final - Emma Raducanu def. Johana Markova
...6-4/6-2. The 15-year old Brit wins her second challenger singles crown of the season.


===============================================
10. $25K Florence USA Final - Anna Danilina/Ulrikke Eikeri def. Tara Moore/Conny Perrin
...6-7(9)/6-3 [10-8]. Moore & Perrin nearly joined Minnen & Van Uytvanck as couples in the weekend doubles winners' circle.
===============================================
HM- $100K Suzhou 2nd Round - Katie Swan def. def. Lu Jiajing 6-2/6-2
$100K Suzhou CHN QF - Viktoriya Tomova def. Katie Swan 6-4/0-0 ret.
...this all happened about the same time this week as my weird dream where Katie Swan was -- for some reason -- playing endless practical jokes on me. Umm... sorry, Katie?




I'll put that one alongside the one from years ago where Justine Henin started playing the piano and singing.
===============================================


Best Entry: "Strangest Stroke: 1.Hsieh (whole game)"


Of note...


Chakvetadze Sighting - the art of distraction


To divvy up coaching duties by continent... the next big thing?




1. Moscow 2nd Round - Vera Zvonareva def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-1/6-2. Zvonareva's last Top 10 win came seven years ago. This week's Grade A junior champ Clara Tauson was two months from turning age 9.


===============================================
2. Luxembourg 1st Round - Donna Vekic def. ANNA KAROLINA SCHMIEDLOVA
...6-0/6-1. Oh, AKS.
===============================================
3. $25K Florence USA Final - Bianca Andreescu def. MARI OSAKA
...6-4/2-6/6-3. While Naomi was in Singapore, her 22-year old big sister Mari was in South Carolina seeking her first pro singles title in a $25K challenger. It didn't happen, though, as the 18-year old Canadian finally picked up her first singles challenger crown of the season.
===============================================
4. 15K Ofakim ISR Final - ANASTASIA PRIBYLOVA/ANNA PRIBYLOVA walkover Anna Iakovleva/Sadafmoh Tolibova
$15K Ofakim ISR Final - Dia Evtimova def. ANASTASIA PRIBYLOVA 6-2/6-1
...back-to-back doubles titles for the Pribs, and back-to-back singles runner-up results, too (Anna last week in Ashkelon, Anastasia this week).
===============================================
5. $15K Antalya TUR Final - Johana Markova/MAGDALENA PANTUCKOVA def. Polina Gubina/Anastasiya Vasylyeva
...6-1/6-0. The 19-year old Czech has now won more WD titles with Markova (2) than she has her sister Gabriela (1).

View this post on Instagram

Winners??#TeamJoMa @johymarkova

A post shared by Magdaléna Pantucková (@magdalenapantuckova) on


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


With the AELTC's announcement that Wimbledon will move to a final set TB format once things are tied at 12-12 we now have three different end-of-match formats -- with the U.S. Open's TB at 6-6, and the AO/RG's traditional play-it-out set -- at the four majors. How long before Tennis Australia, what with the dangerous heat conditions Down Under, alters the Australian Open's format to something that might guard against something tragic happening down the line? Maybe, at 6-6, using the doubles-style first-to-10-points tie-break format? Variety is the spice of life, right?
















View this post on Instagram

???? #sailor #rocky @srominy what a fun trip! ??

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





Caro for Radwanska Abbey... err, I mean Aga's Apartments






























*2018 WTA TOUR AWARD WINNERS*
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Simona Halep, ROU
COMEBACK PLAYER: Serena Williams, USA
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Kiki Bertens, NED
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Arnya Sabalenka, BLR
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE

*2018 WEEKS AT #1*
[singles - to December 24]
48 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU
4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
[doubles - to October 22]
16 - Latisha Chan, TPE
14 - TIMEA BABOS, HUN
8 - Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
5 - Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS

*ALL-TIME WEEKS AT WTA #1*
377 - Steffi Graf
331 - Martina Navratilova
319 - Serena Williams
260 - Chris Evert
209 - Martina Hingis
178 - Monica Seles
117 - Justine Henin
98 - Lindsay Davenport
71 - Caroline Wozniacki
60 - SIMONA HALEP (to December 24, 2018)
51 - Victoria Azarenka
39 - Amelie Mauresmo
34 - Angelique Kerber
26 - Dinara Safina
21 - Tracy Austin
21 - Maria Sharapova
20 - Kim Clijsters
18 - Jelena Jankovic
17 - Jennifer Capriati
12 - Ana Ivanovic
12 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
11 - Venus Williams
8 - Karolina Pliskova
4 - Garbine Muguruza
2 - Evonne Goolagong

*"YEAR-AFTER" RANKINGS FOR PREVIOUS SEASON'S #1*
#1 = 1976 Chris Evert, USA
#1 = 1977 Chris Evert, USA
#2 = 1978 Chris Evert, USA
#1 = 1979 Martina Navratilova, CZE
#3 = 1980 Martina Navratilova, CZE
#1 = 1981 Chris Evert-Lloyd, USA
#2 = 1982 Chris Evert-Lloyd, USA
#1 = 1983 Martina Navratilova, USA
#1 = 1984 Martina Navratilova, USA
#1 = 1985 Martina Navratilova, USA
#1 = 1986 Martina Navratilova, USA
#2 = 1987 Martina Navratilova, USA
#1 = 1988 Steffi Graf, FRG
#1 = 1989 Steffi Graf, FRG
#1 = 1990 Steffi Graf, FRG
#2 = 1991 Steffi Graf, GER
#1 = 1992 Monica Seles, YUG
#8 = 1993 Monica Seles, YUG
#1 = 1994 Steffi Graf, GER
#1 = 1995 Steffi Graf, GER
#1 = 1996 (co) Steffi Graf, GER
#2 = 1996 (co) Monica Seles, USA
#28 = 1997 Steffi Graf, GER (knee surgery)
#2 = 1998 Martina Hingis, SUI
#2 = 1999 Lindsay Davenport, USA
#1 = 2000 Martina Hingis, SUI
#4 = 2001 Martina Hingis, SUI
#12 = 2002 Lindsay Davenport, USA (injured/missed 3 slams)
#3 = 2003 Serena Williams, USA
#8 = 2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
#1 = 2005 Lindsay Davenport, USA
#25 = 2006 Lindsay Davenport, USA (back injury/out 5 months)
#1 = 2007 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
NR = 2008 Justine Henin, BEL (retired)
#8 = 2009 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
#4 = 2010 Serena Williams, USA
#1 = 2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#10 = 2012 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#2 = 2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#1 = 2014 Serena Williams, USA
#1 = 2015 Serena Williams, USA
#2 = 2016 Serena Williams, USA
#21 = 2017 Angelique Kerber, GER (worst non-injury/ret. related ranking)
#1 = 2018 Simona Halep, ROU

*2018 WTA TITLES WON BY #1 SEED*
Shenzhen - Simona Halep, ROU
Dubai - Elina Svitolina, UKR
Monterrey - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Rabat - Elise Mertens, BEL
Roland Garros - Simona Halep, ROU
Nottingham - Ash Barty, AUS
Eastbourne - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
Bucharest - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
Gstaad - Alize Cornet, FRA
Montreal - Simona Halep, ROU
LUXEMBOURG - JULIA GOERGES, GER

*2018 NATIONS w/ MULTIPLE DIFF. WS CHAMPS*
4 = RUS - Gasparyan,KASATKINA,Kuznetsova,Pavlyuchenkova
3 = GER - Goerges,Kerber,Maria
3 = FRA - Cornet,Garcia,Parmentier
3 = UKR - Svitolina,Tsurenko,Yastremska
2 = BEL - Mertens,Van Uytvanck
2 = CZE - Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova
2 = ROU - Buzarnescu,Halep
2 = SRB - Krunic,Danilovic
[recent season leaders]
2007: Russia (8)
2008: Russia (7)
2009: Russia (6)
2010: Russia (9)
2011: Russia (5)
2012: Italy, United States, Slovakia (3)
2013: Russia (4)
2014: United States (5)
2015: Italy, Russia (4)
2016: United States (7)
2017: Czech Republic, Russia (5)
2018: Russia (4)

*2018 WTA FINALS - RUS*
3 - DASHA KASATKINA (1-2)
2 - Anastasia Potapova (0-2)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (1-0)
1 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-0)
1 - Margarita Gasparyan (1-0)
1 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (0-1)

*2018 WTA FINALS - GER*
3 - JULIA GOERGESs (2-1)
2 - Angelique Kerber (2-0)
1 - Tatjana Maria (1-0)

*2018 WTA SINGLES FINALIST IN HOME NATION*
Sydney - Ash Barty, AUS
Miami - Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
Prague - Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
Nottingham - Johanna Konta, GBR
Moscow MO - Anastasia Potapova, RUS
Nanchang - Zheng Saisai, CHN
Nanchang - Wang Qiang, CHN (W)
US Open - Serena Williams, USA
Guangzhou - Wang Qiang, CHN (W)
Tokyo PPO - Naomi Osaka, JPN
Hong Kong - Wang Qiang, CHN
MOSCOW KC - DASHA KASATKINA, RUS (W)

*2018 QUALIFIERS IN WTA FINALS*
Brisbane - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (23, #88)
Hiroshima - Amanda Anisimova, USA (17, #134)
Quebec City - Jessica Pegula, USA (24, #227)
Tashkent - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (17, #132)
Linz - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (23, #119)
MOSCOW KC - ONS JABEUR, TUN (24, #101)
LUXEMBOURG - BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (21, #47)
--
Combined Record: 0-7

*2018 WTA SF*
8 - Simona Halep, ROU (6-1+L)
7 - ANASTASIJA SEVASTOVA, LAT (3-4)
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-1)
6 - JULIA GOERGES, GER (3-3)
6 - Wang Qiang, CHN (3-3)
6 - Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (3-3)

*2018 FIRST-TIME WTA WD CHAMPIONS*
Anna Blinkova, RUS
Naomi Broady, GBR
Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
Choi Ji-hee, KOR
Olga Danilovic, SRB
Georgina Garcia Perez, ESP
Alexa Guarachi, CHI
Simona Halep, ROU
Han Na-lae, KOR
Irina Khromacheva, RUS
Desirae Krawczyk, USA
GREET MINNEN, BEL
Anastasia Potapova, RUS
Bibiane Schoofs, NED
Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
Fanny Stollar, HUN
ALISON VAN UYTVANCK, BEL
Tamara Zidansek, SLO

*2018 GRADE 1/A/SLAM JUNIOR CHAMPS*
Coffee Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Copa Barranquilla G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Traralgon G1: Liang En-shou/TPE
Prague G1: Maria Timofeeva/RUS
Australian Open: Liang En-shuo/TPE
Mundial Juvenil G1: Gabriella Price/USA
Asuncion Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Banana Bowl G1: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Yeltsin Cup G1: Lenka Stara/SVK
Porto Alegre GA: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
Nonthaburi G1: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup G1: Naho Sato/JPN
Perin Memorial G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
Trofeo JCF G1: Diane Parry/FRA
U.S. Int'l Spring Chsp G1: Hurricane Tyra Black/USA
Beaulieu-sur-Mer G1: Eleonora Molinaro/LUX
Mediterranee Avenir G1: Yasmine Mansouri/FRA
Santa Croce G1: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
Trofeo Bonfiglio GA: Eleonora Molinaro/LUX
Astrid Bowl G1: Alexa Noel/USA
Roland Garros: Coco Gauff/USA
Offenbach G1: Lea Ma/USA
Allianz Kundler German Juniors G1: Selma Stefania Cadar/ROU
Roehampton G1: Coco Gauff/USA
Wimbledon: Iga Swiatek/POL
China Junior G1: Wong Hong Yi Cody/HKG
PG Co. Int'l HC G1: Katie Volynets/USA
Banque Nationale du Canada G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
U.S. Open: Wang Xiyu/CHN
Youth Olympic Games: Kaja Juvan/SLO
Osaka Mayor's Cup GA: Clara Tauson/DEN

*2018 $100K CHAMPIONS*
Midland, USA (hci) - Madison Brengle/USA
Khimki, RUS (hci) - Vera Lapko/BLR
Cagnes-sur-Mer, FRA (rco) - Rebecca Peterson/SWE
Trnava, SVK (rco) - Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
Surbiton, ENG (gr) - Alison Riske/USA
Manchester, ENG (gr) - Ons Jabeur/TUN
Ilkley, ENG (gr) - Tereza Smitkova/CZE
Southsea, ENG (gr) - Kirsten Flipkens/BEL
Contrexeville, FRA (rco) - Stefanie Voegele/SUI
Budapest, HUN (rco) - Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK (2)
Vancouver, CAN (hco) - Misaki Doi/JPN
Suzhou, CHN (hco) - Zheng Saisai/CHN

*SEASONS WITH FIVE DIFF. SLAM/WTAF CHAMPIONS*
2005 = S.Williams, Henin-Hardenne, V.Williams, Clijsters (+ Mauresmo)
2017 = S.Williams, Ostapenko, Muguruza, Stephens (+Wozniacki)
--
2018 = Wozniacki, Halep, Kerber, Osaka (+??)




=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF TITLES=
8 - Martina Navratilova
5 - Serena Williams*
5 - Steffi Graf
4 - Chris Evert
3 - Kim Clijsters
3 - Monica Seles
2 - Gabriela Sabatini
2 - Martina Hingis
2 - Justine Henin
2 - Evonne Goolagong

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF FINALS=
14 - Martina Navratilova (8-6)
8 - Chris Evert (4-4)
7 - Serena Williams (5-2)
6 - Steffi Graf (5-1)
4 - Lindsay Davenport (1-3)
4 - Monica Seles (3-1)
4 - Martina Hingis (2-2)
4 - Gabriela Sabatini (2-2)
3 - Kim Clijsters (3-0)
3 - Evonne Goolagong (2-1)
3 - Amelie Mauresmo (1-2)
3 - Maria Sharapova (1-2)
3 - Venus Williams (1-2)
2 - Justine Henin (2-0)
2 - Tracy Austin (1-1)
2 - Petra Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-1)
2 - Mary Pierce (0-2)

=REACHED FINAL IN WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF DEBUT=
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1981 Andrea Jaeger, USA
1994 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1996 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (W)

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD TITLES=
11 - Martina Navratilova
10 - Pam Shriver
4 - Lisa Raymond
3 - Cara Black
3 - Lindsay Davenport
3 - Martina Hingis
3 - Liebel Huber
3 - Natasha Zvereva
2 - Margaret Court
2 - Gigi Fernandez
2 - Anna Kournikova
2 - Sania Mirza
2 - Jana Novotna
2 - Nadia Petrova
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2 - Samantha Stosur

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WS FINALS=
1972 Chris Evert d. Kerry Reid
1973 Chris Evert d.Nancy Richey
1974 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1975 Chris Evert d. Martina Navratilova
1976 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1977 Chris Evert d. Sue Barker
1978 Martina Navratilova d. Evonne Goolagong
1979 Martina Navratilova d. Tracy Austin
1980 Tracy Austin d. Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova d. Andrea Jaeger
1982 Sylvia Hanika d. Martina Navratilova
1983 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1984 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1985 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1986a Martina Navratilova d. Hana Mandlikova
1986b Martina Navratilova d. Steffi Graf
1987 Steffi Graf d. Gabriela Sabatini
1988 Gabriela Sabatini d. Pam Shriver
1989 Steffi Graf d. Martina Navratilova
1990 Monica Seles d. Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1992 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1993 Steffi Graf d. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1994 Gabriela Sabatini d. Lindsay Davenport
1995 Steffi Graf d. Anke Huber
1996 Steffi Graf d. Martina Hingis
1997 Jana Novotna d. Mary Pierce
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2000 Martina Hingis d. Monica Seles
2001 Serena Williams w/o Lindsay Davenport
2002 Kim Clijsters d. Serena Williams
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams
2005 Amelie Mauresmo d. Mary Pierce
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Justine Henin d. Maria Sharapova
2008 Venus Williams d. Vera Zvonareva
2009 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2010 Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Petra Kvitova d. Victoria Azarenka
2012 Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Serena Williams d. Li Na
2014 Serena Williams d. Simona Halelp
2015 Aga Radwanska d. Petra Kvitova
2016 Dominika Cibulkova d. Angelique Kerber
2017 Caroline Wozniacki d. Venus Williams

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD CHAMPIONS=
1973 Rosie Casals / Margaret Court
1974 Billie Jean King / Rosie Casals
1979 Francoise Durr / Betty Stove
1980 Billie Jean King / Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1982 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1983 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1984 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1985 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1986a Hana Mandlikova / Wendy Turnbull
1986b Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1987 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1988 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1989 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1990 Kathy Jordan / Liz Smylie
1991 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1992 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Helena Sukova
1993 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1994 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1995 Jana Novotna / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1996 Lindsay Davenport / Mary Joe Fernandez
1997 Lindsay Davenport / Jana Novotna
1998 Lindsay Davenport / Natasha Zvereva
1999 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2000 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2001 Lisa Raymond / Rennae Stubbs
2002 Elena Dementieva / Janette Husarova
2003 Virginia Ruano-Pascual / Paola Suarez
2004 Nadia Petrova / Meghann Shaughnessy
2005 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2006 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2007 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2008 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2009 Nuria Llagostera-Vives / Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez
2010 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2011 Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond
2012 Maria Kirilenko / Nadia Petrova
2013 Hsieh Su-Wei / Peng Shuai
2014 Cara Black / Sania Mirza
2015 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2016 Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina
2017 Timea Babos / Andrea Hlavackova

=RISING STARS FINALS=
2014 Monica Puig/PUR def. Zheng Saisai/CHN
2015 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. Caroline Garcia/FRA

=FUTURE STARS, 16-and-under=
2014 Karman Thandi/IND def. Rifanty Khafiany/INA
2015 Pranjala Yadlapalli/IND def. Yun Hye Ran/KOR
2016 Violet Apisah/PNG def. Shivani Amineni/IND
2017 Megan Smith/AUS def. Lee Ya-Hsin/TPE

=FUTURE STARS, 14-and-under=
2014 Thasaporn Naklo/THA def. Yuki Ando/JPN
2015 Chu Jiayu/CHN def. Fitriani Sabatini/INA
2016 Shiori Ito/JPN def. Olesya Kim/UZB
2017 Priska Nugroho/INA def. Pimrada Jattavapornvanit/THA








WTA FINALS; SINGAPORE (Hard Court Indoor)
=RED GROUP=
(1) Kerber 2-1
(3) Osaka 2-1
(8) Bertens 1-2
(5) Stephens 1-2
=WHITE GROUP=
(7) Ka.Pliskova 3-0
(2) Wozniacki 1-2
(6) Svitolina 1-2
(4) Kvitova 1-2

*SINGLES SF*
#2 Wozniacki d. #1 Kerber
#3 Osaka d. #7 Ka.Pliskova
*SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Osaka d. #2 Wozniacki


And, finally...

One act that missed out (because their music went back a little *too* far once I shifted the focus) on being included in my U.S. Open "And finally..." series was Boy George and Culture Club. Well, they're back with a new studio album this month. Here they are with a New Year's Eve '84 performance of "Karma Chameleon" (a big thumbs up to the YouTube commenters who noted how much better it is to see a live performance unlike those we get now -- i.e. sans the bank of front row audience members recording everything on their phones), as well a TV appearance from a few weeks ago.




All for now.
↧

Wk.43- A Singaporean Song of Svitolina

October 28, 2018, 4:55 pm
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With her "Trust the Process" mantra suddenly evenly teetering on the edge of between being either a legitimate 2019 plotline, or a punchline, Elina Svitolina went to Singapore filled with a desire to prove her critics wrong. Geez, she should have gotten angry and mean -- in a positive way, of course -- sooner.

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After her opening round robin match at the WTA Finals, the Ukrainian made a point to note that the win was for the "haters" who'd questioned her presence in the field at all. She'd taken it upon herself in recent weeks (after parting ways with two different coaches, with only Andrew Bettles remaining from the previous set-up) to focus on qualifying for the season-ending event, to the point of trying to play "mean" in order to get the job done. Once she *did* make the eight-player field, though, there was only one way to silence (for now) those critics.

So, while the in-your-face aspect of the past week was only a minor factor, Svitolina *did* seem determined to re-write the thumbnail, spare-no-feelings description of her career thus far, to prove that she wasn't a player who was destined to be a "choker," nor a player who "wasn't any good." Factually, none of it was ever true. After all, her three previous '18 titles, just like her cache of other crowns in recent seasons, rank her at or near the top of any list of the tour's most successful recent winners. Her overwhelming number of Top 10 wins and defeats of various world #1's in recent seasons speak to her standing, as well

The only thing she didn't have was a slam title and the long-term respect that comes with it. Or even a major semifinal. Not that she hasn't been close. In fact, she's squandered numerous opportunities, not the least of which was an epic collapse in the Roland Garros quarterfinals two years ago against Simona Halep.

Thing is, rather than grow and learn from that experience in Paris, the last two and a half years have seemed to allow it (and other similar breakdowns) to be perpetually dragged along behind Svitolina like shoes tied to the bumper of an otherwise valuable sports car. "Everything looks good... but, you know, what's the deal with the shoes, anyway?" It was hard, if not impossible, to discuss her without bringing it up. Whenever another cover-your-eyes moment or early-round slam loss occurred, her past failures were highlighted yet again. Svitolina's lack of confidence in those recurring instances was often palpable, as well as a self-fulfilling prophecy for eventual failure.

A sudden burst to a major title, ala someone like Alona Ostapenko, was never going to be in the cards for Svitolina. It's just not her way, nor does it even seem to fly with a game style built on defense and opportunistic aggression that usually depends on a high confidence/low negativity level of angst in order to be effectively utilized at the most important moments in the biggest matches on the largest stages.

Svitolina desperately needed a boost. Something to put in her back pocket. A good memory to call upon in times of trouble. After searching for the table-turning moment for over two years, she seemed to collect a whole bushel of them this past week in Singapore.

With Halep's long-awaited climb into the slam winner's circle in '18, the deck was effectively cleared this past spring and readied for the "new" leading "hard luck" story to fully fill the "she deserves to win one" role when it comes to the neverending search for the next maiden slam champion. Thing is, that person wasn't to be Svitolina. She was "supposed" to have gotten there by now.

Svitolina's rise in recent years, from lower-level title winner to Top 20 player to Premier 5 champion and consistent Top 10 (or even 5) presence has been a multi-season affair in which the gradual construction of a legitimate champion was a pretty transparent "building project" headed up by the Ukrainian herself. From the seemingly annual exchange of coaches, seeking the next lesson to learn along her path, she became a fascinating case of how cerebral a player's decisions might become as she seeks to pool her resources over time to become the player she wants to ultimately be.

It's where and why the "Elina To-Do List" (seen in this space in recent seasons) came about. Her step-by-step march (via a process, if you will) to a slam title seemed an eventuality, if not a destiny waiting for her shortly down the line. But what happened in Paris in '16 has proved to be a hard hurdle to clear. This past year, in the latest attempt to add what was needed to take her game beyond the lingering slam "glass ceiling" her altered training regimen saw her develop a much more lean body type, leading many to question if she'd "gone too far" and lost strength, power and in-match stamina while following an elusive "Process" designed to improve (one would think) her speed and flexibility.



I must admit, even I, a longtime proponent of the Ukrainian's step-by-step, station-by-station, experience-by-experience climb up the ladder, was starting to, if not worry and outright question, then at least arch a suspicious eyebrow (or two or, all right, maybe three) in recent months as Svitolina went out meekly via another 3rd set collapse, then would post the usual "Trust the Process" mantra on social media.

Svitolina's undefeated WTA Finals title run, completed while building one confidence-building moment upon another, upon another, and upon another seemed to elevate the Ukrainian's prospects in clutch moments -- even in her own mind, where it's most important but is sometimes corrupted by negative emotions and frustration -- to another realm. Suddenly, after fighting through lingering moments of doubt as the week wore on, being "positive" seemed easier for her to pull off come the final Sunday. When Svitolina should have been physically dragging after a series of tough, intense in-match situations, she ended her season bouncing around the court for two hours, tearing the shoes off the bumper and shifting things into a new gear. One built for ultimate success.

Does winning in Singapore mean that Svitolina will win a slam in 2019? Well, no. Even if many first-time WTAF champions (most recently, the slam-deprived Caroline Wozniacki last year, who followed up by winning the Australian Open in her next major draw) have used this title as a springboard to greater things in the past, nothing is ever guaranteed.

But Svitolina now has a positive moment to bring to her next slam fight, as well as the confidence its trusty presence engenders. She's proven over the years that she can beat *anyone* (yes, even you-know-who) when her game is true. The biggest obstacle was often belief. She's got no reason to question it now.

So it's time for her to go get hers.




*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*
WTA FINALS (SINGAPORE) (Hard Court Indoor)
S: Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Sloane Stephens/USA 3-6/6-2/6-2
D: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) 6-4/7-5
WTAF - FUTURE STARS (u14)
Yang Ya-Yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki//JPN 6-3/6-3
WTAF - FUTURE STARS (u16)
Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulous/AUS 7-5/7-6(5)
JUNIOR MASTERS (Chengdu, CHN)
Clara Burel/FRA def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL 7-6(6)/6-1




PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Elina Svitolina/UKR
...Svitolina's path to Singapore glory is chronicled at various stages throughout this post, so I won't be overly redundant by mentioning every moment here.

I will say, though, that this WTAF title run *will* change Svitolina. Remember, she's still on a mission to find a "full-time"'19 coach to work with along with Andrew Bettles, and the guts and promise of more she showed this week will now shine an even brighter light on that decision (especially after what happened after Osaka choose Bajin last winter). Going from being looked at as someone who falters in the majors to someone who most will now have more expectation to *win* a major is rarely a totally smooth transformation, either. Remember, while Svitolina will now finish at a best-ever #4 for 2018, her 13th career title *does* (at least temporarily) make her a Daily Backspin Slam Oddity -- unless or until, say, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova joins her by winning one more WTA singles title -- as Elina is now the only player (of 40 who qualify) in tour history with at least thirteen titles but zero slam semifinal results to her credit.

So, there's still that. But she can't really do anything about it for another three months, so...



===============================================
RISERS:Kiki Bertens/NED and Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...both Bertens and Pliskova came up a set short of facing off in the WTAF final match, bowing out on the weekend after shining brightly in Singapore before being unable to overcome a series of self-inflicted wounds in their final outings.



In her WTAF debut, Bertens became the first Dutch woman to reach the semis after battling her way through round robin play. First, she staged a Day 1 comeback win over Angelique Kerber after falling behind 6-1/2-0, taking her ninth straight match vs. a Top 10 opponent. After losing in three to Sloane Stephens, she reached the semis when Naomi Osaka retired (leg) after one set in the final RR match for both, giving Bertens a tour-best twelve Top 10 wins this season (on three different surfaces, on three different continents vs. nine different women). Facing Elina Svitolina in the semis for a spot in the final, Bertens at times found herself frustrated and rushing herself into errors in the match's biggest moments, including a spate of errors at the end of the 1st (including a DF on the Ukrainian's final SP) that thwarted a would-be comeback, then her inability to break Svitolina (she had two BP) as she served for the match in the 3rd. At the end of the 2:40 match, Bertens' 41 winners were overcome by 63 unforced errors.



Pliskova seemed to grow wings during her late-season swing after bringing Rennae Stubbs aboard as coach and committing to continuing to utilize Conchita Martinez (who helped her during her QF run a the U.S. Open) in '19. The lethal serve that pushed her to #1 not that long ago, but had since been less of a match-deciding factor, once again became a game-changing weapon. The form that produced a Tokyo title run and Tianjin final carried over to Singapore. The Czech opened play with a Day 1 win over Caroline Wozniacki and she advanced to her second straight WTAF semifinal with her first career win over countrywoman Petra Kvitova. Once there, she led Sloane Stephens 6-0/2-0, with a point for a 3-0 hold, before the Bannerette rose up and began to take advantage of what was Pliskova's worst serving game of the week. Stephens won in three, as the Czech had just a 45% first serve percentage, committed 41 UE and had 4 DF (w/ 0 aces). Still, with her 4Q surge Pliskova has reinserted herself into the "next maiden slam champ" discussion as 2019 actions kicks off before anyone has had much time to take a restful breath.


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


SURPRISE:Harriet Dart/GBR
...the 22-year old Brit ended what has been her career year on a high note, sweeping the singles and doubles titles at a $25K challenger in Oslo. Dart picked up her second '18 singles title when Paula Badosa retired down 6-2/1-0 in the final, and she teamed with Swede Cornelia Lister to take the doubles. Coming into the week at a career high of #165, Dart is assured of her best season finish (she'd never completed a Top 300 year until now) in a campaign which included her slam debut at Wimbledon (after getting a WC following back-to-back-to-back $100K SF/QF/QF results on grass, after having coming into that stretch off an $80K QF and $60 SF, and an Eastbourne 1st Round win over Kristyna Pliskova) and taking Karolina Pliskova into a 1st set TB and (ultimately) three sets, and then putting on a semifinal mixed doubles run at the AELTC with Jay Clarke.
===============================================
VETERAN:Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...who knows what might have happened had Wozniacki gotten off to a better star in Singapore, rather than losing on Day 1 to Karolina Pliskova and suddenly finding herself squarely behind the 8-Ball the rest of the week in her WTA Finals title defense attempt. In the end, though, the Pliskova loss proved to be too big a deficit to overcome in a tight round robin competition.

After outlasting Petra Kvitova, she entered the final day of White Group round robin play needing a straight sets win over Elina Svitolina to advance to the semis, while the Ukrainian needed to just win one set to eliminate Wozniacki. After winning the 1st set, the Dane took part in one of the oddest scenarios in head-to-head sport, as while a "win" was still within sight if she couldn't close out the 2nd it would be "meaningless" for her if it took her three sets to get it. Serving down 5-6, she fell behind 15/40, facing multiple BP/SP situations that were essentially a "MP" (though not really... but, in way, *exactly* that). Svitolina showed a touch of nerves, while Wozniacki remained calm and held a pair of GP that would have forced a "winner-take-all" TB (even if they still had to play a 3rd set). But it didn't happen, and Svitolina converted on her fifth BP/SP/Advancement Point. With Group placement at stake, they played out the 3rd, with Svitolina winning 5-7/7-5/6-3 to take 1st Place.

Afterward, Wozniacki cleared up the lingering mystery about what exactly was the injury issue she encountered during the summer, as she announced that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis before the U.S. Open. If you remember, it was thought not long before the start of the season's final slam that she might decide to not play. She ultimately did, losing in the 2nd Round.



===============================================
COMEBACKS:Sloane Stephens/USA and Varvara Lepchenko/USA
...not really a traditional "comeback" entrant, for sure, but Stephens' debut appearance in the WTAF, even while it came up just short of earning her the title (dropping her to 1-3 in finals in '18), at least put to bed the notion that she can't bring herself to produce big results either, 1) outside the U.S., 2) in Asia or 3) in the 4Q of the season. If not for Svitolina's perhaps career course-correcting transformation, Stephens was well on her way to being the story of the week, brushing aside any questions that may have lingered about her staying power at the top of the game (and/or willingness to bring the sort of focus to the table in all portions of the season that could get her to #1). Three-set wins over Naomi Osaka and Kiki Bertens set the stage for her 3 & 3 win-or-go-home RR win over Angelique Kerber. In the semis, she rallied from a 6-0/2-0 (and nearly 3-0) deficit vs. Karolina Pliskova, and took the 1st set in the final from Svitolina. Even while the Ukrainian grabbed an early lead in the 3rd, it only came after staving off multiple potentially momentum-changing BP opportunities held by an "on-and-off" Stephens, and even after *that* the suspicion lingered into the final game of the match that Sloane might still "flip the switch" and send Svitolina into '19 with another lost lead on her big stage ledger.



But the question remains whether this might be Sloane's last gasp for '18, as this result is an autumnal anomaly as far as her career results go. She'll surely be counted on to head up Kathy Rinaldi's U.S. squad in the Fed Cup final, and the happenings of this week (remember, she went 0-2 vs. BLR last year and nearly single handedly cost the Bannerettes the title) -- both her own and that of the likely-tiring Petra Kvitova, as well as Pliskova's memory of the big SF comeback -- would seem to open the door (at least a little) for the possibility of a U.S. repeat against the favored Czechs.

In Macon, Georgia in the first tournament in the USTA's four-event Australian Open Wild Card Playoff, 32-year old Lepchenko picked up the $80K title, her first singles crown since winning a $50K challenger back in 2011. The world #162, who reached the Top 20 in '12, took the title without dropping a set, defeating Ashley Kratzer, Whitney Osuigwe, Allie Kiick and Veronica Cepede Royg in the final. This wasn't Lepchenko's only good result this quarter, as she also pulled the big upset of Aryna Sabalenka in Quebec City immediately after the U.S. Open and went on to reach the QF.
===============================================
FRESH FACE:Kaja Juvan/SLO
...so, is it too early to go ahead and name the top player on the 2019 "Name You'll Know..." list? Because, well, Juvan will be it.

The 17-year old Slovenian, fresh off her two Gold medal performance at the Youth Olympics, carried over her momentum to her fourth '18 ITF title (sixth final). At the $25K challenger in Pula, Italy, Juvan handed Fernanda Brito (6-2/6-1) a rare circuit loss, defeating the Chilean in the SF and dropping her to 47-3 since late April (a span during which she won eight singles titles). A 3-6/6-1/6-2 win in the final over Polina Leykina finished off Juvan's week, and season, as on Monday she'll be one of seven players under 18 positioned inside the Top 200 as we enter Week 44, after which the official "season-ending" rankings will be recorded.


===============================================
DOWN:Petra Kvitova/CZE
...without a notable result since her New Haven QF, and in her final tour-level event before the Fed Cup final next month, Kvitova seemed buoyed by the nation of a faster hard court surface in Singapore in the sort of indoor event at which she's traditionally thrived. But after the initial hopes about the surface proved to be premature, the Czech's notions of a final great individual result in her reawakening season seemed to drift away, as well. After opening with just her second loss in nine meetings with Elina Svitolina, she fell in three sets to Caroline Wozniacki and lost for the first time ever to Karolina Pliskova (and did so in straight sets). The loss is her second to a fellow Czech in '18 (and second to a Pliskova, having come up short vs. Kristyna in Charleston), dropping her her 27-2 vs. her countrywoman since 2012. With an 0-3 WTA Finals mark (she's now 4-9 in the event since going 5-0 and winning the title in her '11 WTAF debut), one wonders if Kvitova can effectively regroup and bring her best to the Fed Cup final in November. Even with her great FC history, she was 0-3 in indoor matches while playing for her country as recently as '16.



===============================================
ITF PLAYER:Viktorija Golubic/SUI
...in Poitiers, France the 26-year old Swiss took home the crown at the week's biggest European challenger event. Her $80K run is her first singles title of any kind since winning the tour-level event in Gstaad in 2016, and included her first appearance in a final since her $60K February defeat at the hands of teenager Marta Kostyuk. Golubic's week included wins over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Anna Blinkova, Monica Niculescu and Natalia Vikhlyantseva in a 3-6/6-1/7-5 final. She saved a MP held by the Hordette in the 3rd set. The win will lift Golubic's ranking fifteen spots and back into the Top 100 at #92, meaning she's likely to finish the '18 season a week from now with her second Top 100 campaign. Her only other came two years ago (#57).
===============================================


JUNIOR STAR:Clara Burel/FRA
...Svitolina wasn't the only player to get over "the hump" in Asia this weekend. The 17-year old Pastry did it, too.

Burel has consistently been a top performer at 2018's biggest junior events, but she entered the week still seeking one of the season's most prestigious crowns. She was runner-up at both hard court slams, losing in the AO final to Liang En-shuo and in the U.S. vs. Wang Xiyu, and just a couple of weeks ago went home with Silver after falling to Kaja Juvan in the Youth Olympics final in Buenos Aires. This week, at the eight-player Junior Masters round robin event in Chengdu, China, Burel got one more big event opportunity to come out on top. Things finally went her way.



Burel went 2-0 in RR play, defeating Eleonora Molinaro and Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, advancing to the SF without playing a third match (after Wang withdrew with an injury). She then avenged her Melbourne loss to Liang to reach the final, where she again knocked off Osorio. The Colombian had reached the semis after defeating Wang and winning out over Molinaro, who'd served for the win, in the last RR match, and then upset Clara Tauson to make the final two. Burel's 7-6(6)/6-1 victory in the final followed up additional wins over Osorio in the U.S. Open and Youth Olympics semis. As Burel noted in her Instagram post, she'll now be the new girls #1.
===============================================


DOUBLES:Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
...The '18 doubles season of Babos/Mladenovic had a certain symmetry about it. It began with a run to the Australian Open title, then experienced an 11-6 title-less stretch until a win in Birmingham, immediately followed by another 11-6 title-less period heading into the WTA Finals. While they didn't manage to snatch the year-end #1 ranking away from Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, the pair *did* hold up their end of the bargain when it came to taking the title. Their Singapore championship run, which included wins over Dabrowski/Xu and Barty/Vandeweghe (the latter in a 10-8 match TB) before a 6-4/7-5 victory over the aforementioned top-ranked Czechs in the final, represents the 19th career tour WD title for both women, and their sixth as a pair (three before Kiki's fruitful run with Caroline Garcia, and three this year, two of which included victories over Krejcikova/Siniakova). Babos (who won in '17 w/ Andrea Hlavackova) is the fourth woman to repeat as the tournament's WD champ with a different partner, while Mladenovic is the first Pastry to win the title since Francoise Durr in 1979.
===============================================
WHEELCHAIR:Michaela Spaanstra/NED
...at the Sion Indoor ITF 3 event in Switzerland, #2-seeded Spaanstra took the title with a 4-6/6-4/6-4 win in the final over top-seeded German Katharia Kruger (world #9). The 40-year old Dutch woman, ranked #12 on the WC tour, had faced off twice before in '18 finals with Kruger, defeating her in Wroclaw, POL in June and then losing in Ath, BEL in August. Spaanstra is 5-3 in singles finals this season.


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





1a. WTAF Final - Elina Svitolina def. Sloane Stephens
...3-6/6-2/6-2. A week's worth of confidence-building wins served Svitolina well in the final. She got off to a slow start, dropping serve at love to go down 2-0, and then holding multiple BP in more than one game that went unconverted as Stephens grabbed the 1st. Unbowed, Svitolina took advantage of Stephens' slightly "off" (tiring?) form in the 2nd, jumping to a 3-1 lead and breaking to take the set. In the 3rd, the Ukrainian, quite obviously running on built-up adrenaline and keeping to coach Andrew Bettles' call to project positivity, embraced the moment on which what comes next in her career may pivot. Chasing down a net cord shot and flicking a forehand winner across Stephens' path, Svitolina broke for a 2-0 lead, then saved three BP a game later, holding with a put-away volley off the sideline.



But the match wouldn't end without a final push from Stephens, who turned her game up a notch, threw in a few "come on!" calls, held at love, then took a love/40 lead on Svitolina's serve en route to getting the break back after winning a battle of reflex shots at the net. While she remained a potential comeback threat, Stephens couldn't maintain the roll. As Svitolina stood strong against Sloane's groundstrokes and remained aggressive and confident, a handful of Stephens errors gave the break back. A Svitolina backhand passing shot held for a 5-2 lead. A game later, Stephens' DF put her down love/30. At 30/40 MP, a backhand error finally ended it. Svitolina (for the first time ever, apparently) fell to her back in celebration.

Trust the Process.



No matter which woman had won, it would have marked the second straight year that the four slams and WTAF were won by five different players. Before last year, it'd happened only once (2005) before. In all, the ten biggest tour titles in 2017-18 have been won by nine different women.

2017 AO: Serena Williams
2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko
2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza
2017 US: Sloane Stephens
2017 WTAF: Caroline Wozniacki
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki (2)
2018 RG: Simona Halep
2018 WI: Angelique Kerber
2018 US: Naomi Osaka
2018 WTAF: Elina Svitolina

===============================================
1b. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. Caroline Wozniacki
...5-7/7-5/6-3. Svitolina's path to the title was made possible not by a win here, but by one set. The 2nd. One *game*, really. THE TWELFTH.

While Wozniacki needed a straight sets win to reach the SF and eliminate Svitolina, the Ukrainian needed only to take a single set. With the moment of truth fast approaching late in the tight 2nd stanza, with the Dane serving down 5-6, Svitolina went up 15/40. She didn't *have* to win game #12 to advance, as she would have gotten another chance in a "winner-takes-the-SF-slot" TB. But this moment can now be viewed through the lens of "before." Before Svitolina battled through her nerves (and some short-landing shots that allowed Wozniacki to battle back and hold two GP). Before Svitolina slayed one of her more lethal personal "can't win in the clutch, can't close out a win on the big stage" demons from her past and secured the game, set and the semis on her fifth BP/SP/Advancement Point. Before whatever follows in the aftermath of this win for the Ukrainian becomes a reason to look back on this moment once again.




Svitolina's eventual match win closed out a 3-0 round robin mark, giving her 1st Place in her group, altering what would have otherwise been the semifinal matchups. As it turned out, she faced Kiki Bertens in the SF, who faltered at the end of both the 1st and 3rd sets, and *then* in the final it was Sloane Stephens, who appeared a bit tired at the end of a long week while Svitolina (who'd faced just as many tight situations in long matches) was drinking from a cup filled to the brim with confidence, excitement and redemption.

Would Svitolina have won the title if she'd faced a slightly fresher Stephens in the semis, then either Bertens or Pliskova in the final? Maybe. Maybe not. But she wouldn't have had the chance if not for GAME TWELVE.

Thus, it carves out a special place in Svitolina history. The Process is officially a plotline, not a punchline.
===============================================
3. WTAF SF - Elina Svitolina def. Kiki Bertens
...7-5/6-7(5)/6-4. In a match packed with defensive gets by both players and the steady and confident play of Svitolina, Bertens was ultimately undone by ill-timed dips in play to close out both sets she lost. After being denied a SP at 5-4 in the 1st, Svitolina held in a close game for 6-5, then took the set with help from her Dutch opponent's game #12 errors (including a DF on SP). Despite leading throughout the 2nd, Bertens failed to convert a SP at 5-3 on Svitolina's serve, and was broken after having led 5-4, 40/love a game later as Svitolina's return game prevailed, frustrating Bertens and causing her to rush to the line to serve. Svitolina strung together nine straight points and led 2-0 in the TB, only to see Bertens rebound and win it 7-5.

Svitolina gave back an early break lead in the 3rd, dropping serve on BP #4 in a 13-minute. But she remained positive, and got the break back a game later. She got within two points of the win in two different games, but failed to reach MP. Superior Svitolina defense saved a BP, and she won a 22-shot rally on Bertens' second BP chance. Finally at MP, fully hitting out in a baseline rally, Svitolina took the 2:40 match when Bertens failed to get back a deep shot. Bertens led 41-12 in winners, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 63-36 gap in UE.


===============================================
4. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/6-3. One for the haters. The rest turned out to be for Eli.


===============================================
5. WTAF rr - Kiki Bertens def. Angelique Kerber
...1-6/6-3/6-4."The one that got away" for Kerber, as it likely cost her a SF slot. The German, the #1 seed in the event, led Bertens 6-1/2-0. But, a reminder to be careful... even in victory.


===============================================
6. WTAF rr - Sloane Stephens def. Angelique Kerber
...6-3/6-3. Stephens wins the outright battle for a SF berth in the final match of group play. With her 1-2 mark in Singapore, Kerber finished her season by going 7-7 following her seven-match run to the Wimbledon title.
===============================================
7. Junior Masters Final - Clara Burel def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
...7-6(6)/6-1. Try, try, try and try again...


===============================================
8. Junior Masters rr - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano def. Wang Xiyu
...6-4/6-2. (The now former) Girls #1 Wang withdrew from the event with a rib injury following this loss, but only after a summer and fall filled with promise. After knocking off heavily favored Coco Gauff in the Wimbledon junior competition, she reached the SF at the AELTC, won two $25K titles (and reached another final), won the U.S. Open girls title, made her tour-level MD debut at Guangzhou, posted her first WTA win (B.Pera) in Wuhan and then pushed Dasha Kasatkina into a 3rd set TB and picked up the Youth Olympic doubles Bronze with Wang Xinyu.
===============================================
9. WTA Finals SF - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic def. Ash Barty/CoCo Vandeweghe 6-7(5)/6-3 [10-8]
WTA Finals F - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova 6-4/7-5
...Barty & Vandeweghe have gone 14-6 as partners in '18. Three of the losses have come to Babos/Mladenovic. On the other hand, two of Babos/Mladenovic's three '18 title runs have included wins over Krejcikova/Siniakova.


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


10. Future Stars u14 Final - Yang Ya-Yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki/JPN 6-3/6-3
Future Stars u16 Final - Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulus/AUS 7-5/7-6(5)
...Yang becomes first Taiwanese girl to win a Future Stars competition in Singapore, knocking off the #1 (Wang Xinyang/CHN) and #2 (Kozaki) seeds to do it. Meanwhile, Japan went 1-1 in the junior finals with #1-seeded Ishibashi's victory.


Yang and Kozaki

Ishibashi and Poulus
===============================================
11. $60K Saguenay CAN Final - Tara Moore/Conny Perrin def. Sharon Fichman/Maria Sanchez
...6-0/5-7 [10-7]. A week after losing together in a WD final in South Carolina, engaged couple Moore & Perrin manage to pick up their third overall title as a duo in their ninth final since 2015. It was Fichman's first final in her fourth tournament back after a two and a half year break from the sport.
===============================================
12. $60K Saguenay CAN SF - Katherine Sebov def. Dasha Lopatetskaya
...6-3/1-6/6-2. The 15-year old Ukrainian's remarkable 17-0 run to start her pro career finally comes to an end.
===============================================











1. WTAF rr - Sloane Stephens def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...0-6/6-4/6-1. Down 6-0/2-0, and a point from 3-0, Stephens peeked over the edge, cursed her predicament, and then stepped back... and up. She broke Pliskova's serve to provide herself a lifeline. With one game in her pocket, she slowly reeled in Pliskova (serving at a lowly 45% clip, 0 aces, 4 DF and 41 UE) and eventually took her down to reach the final.


===============================================
2. WTAF rr - Angelique Kerber def. NAOMI OSAKA
..6-4/5-7/6-4. After losing a set and a break lead in her opening match vs. Bertens, Kerber here fought against squandering a 6-4/5-4 lead not long after a flagging Osaka had dropped ten straight points. With Osaka serving at 3-3, 40/15 in the 3rd, the U.S. Open champ badly played a Kerber lob, was soon broken, and then saw the match quickly slip away. Though she was still alive for SF berth despite a 0-2 mark, Osaka only played one more set in Singapore, retiring with a leg injury mid-way through her third and final round robin match two days later vs. Bertens.


===============================================
3. WTAF rr - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/6-4. Now 1-3 vs. Kvitova in her career, Karolina joins sister Kristyna (Charleston this spring) as the only two Czechs to defeat Petra since 2012, a stretch during which she's gone 27-2 vs. fellow Maidens.
===============================================
4. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-3/2-6/6-3. One of the necessary demons Svitolina had to slay in Singapore (with undertones of her past slam exits, in this case her blown Roland Garros QF vs. Halep last year) came when she led Pliskova 4-0 in the 3rd set. As the Czech began to stir, a comeback seemed possible that could leave the Ukrainian in shambles. Memories of big stage moments wasted in her past surely popped into her head. While her back-against-the-wall 2nd set game #12 win vs. Wozniacki could prove to be a key moment for Svitolina's future success, this more "minor" accomplishment may have helped clear a less (mentally) cluttered path that made it possible.
===============================================
5. $60K Bendigo AUS Final - Ellen Perez/ARINA RODIONOVA def. Eri Hozumi/Risa Ozaki
...7-5/6-1. The Aussie picks up her 30th career ITF doubles crown. Rodionova is 0-5 in tour-level WD finals, though.


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


By now familiar territory...



Meanwhile, for Sania, it's nearly time...



Kim's been there, done that (twice). But the "waiting game" still applies...










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Golden autumn in Latvia ??

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*SEASONS WITH FIVE DIFF. SLAM/WTAF CHAMPIONS*
2005 = S.Williams, Henin-Hardenne, V.Williams, Clijsters (+ Mauresmo)
2017 = S.Williams, Ostapenko, Muguruza, Stephens (+Wozniacki)
2018 = Wozniacki, Halep, Kerber, Osaka (+Svitolina)

*MOST WTA SINGLES TITLES in 2018*
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR
3 - Simona Halep, ROU
3 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
3 - Kiki Bertens, NED
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2018*
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (3-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-0)
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (4-0)
4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-1)
4 - Kiki Bertens, NED (3-1)
4 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-2)
4 - SLOANE STEPHENS, USA (1-3)

*2018 WTA FINALS - UKR*
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA (4-0)
1 - Lesia Tsurenko (1-0)
1 - Dayana Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Kateryna Kozlova (0-1)

*2018 WTA FINALS - USA*
4 - SLOANE STEPHENS (1-3)
2 - Serena Williams (0-2)
1 - CoCo Vandeweghe (0-1)
1 - Amanda Anisimova (0-1)
1 - Alison Riske (0-1)
1 - Bernarda Pera (0-1)
1 - Jessica Pegula (0-1)

*MOST WTA DOUBLES FINALS in 2018*
5...BABOS/MLADENOVIC, HUN/FRA (3-2)
5...Mertens/Schuurs, BEL/NED (3-2)
5...KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE (2-3)
5...S.-Hlavackova/Strycova, CZE/CZE (2-3)
4...Melichar/Peschke, USA/CZE (2-2)
4...Klepac/Martinez-Sanchez, SLO/ESP (1-3)

*REACHED FINAL IN WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF DEBUT*
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1981 Andrea Jaeger, USA
1994 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1996 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (W)
2018 Sloane Stephens, USA

*MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD TITLES*
11 - Martina Navratilova
10 - Pam Shriver
4 - Lisa Raymond
3 - Cara Black
3 - Lindsay Davenport
3 - Martina Hingis
3 - Liebel Huber
3 - Natasha Zvereva
2 - TIMEA BABOS
2 - Margaret Court
2 - Gigi Fernandez
2 - Anna Kournikova
2 - Sania Mirza
2 - Jana Novotna
2 - Nadia Petrova
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2 - Samantha Stosur
[defended title w/ diff. partner]
1980/81 - Martina Navratilova (Billie Jean King, Pam Shriver)
1996/97/98 - Lindsay Davenport (Mary Joe Fernandez, Jana Novotna, Natasha Zvereva)
2014/15 - Sania Mirza (Cara Black, Martina Hingis)
2017/18 - Timea Babos (Andrea Hlavackova, Kristina Mladenovic)

*FUTURE STARS, 16-and-under*
2014 Karman Thandi/IND def. Rifanty Khafiany/INA
2015 Pranjala Yadlapalli/IND def. Yun Hye Ran/KOR
2016 Violet Apisah/PNG def. Shivani Amineni/IND
2017 Megan Smith/AUS def. Lee Ya-Hsin/TPE
2018 Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulus/AUS

*FUTURE STARS, 14-and-under*
2014 Thasaporn Naklo/THA def. Yuki Ando/JPN
2015 Chu Jiayu/CHN def. Fitriani Sabatini/INA
2016 Shiori Ito/JPN def. Olesya Kim/UZB
2017 Priska Nugroho/INA def. Pimrada Jattavapornvanit/THA
2018 Yang Ya-yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki/JPN

*PLAYERS WITH 13+ WTA TITLES (40); *-active *
=W (31)=
Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Serena Williams (72)*, Evonne Goolagong (68), Billie Jean King (67), Virginia Wade (55), Monica Seles (53), Venus Williams (49)*, Justine Henin (43), Kim Clijsters (41), Maria Sharapova (36)*, Conchita Martinez (33), Tracy Austin (30), Caroline Wozniacki (30)*, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (29), Hana Mandlikova (27), Gabriela Sabatini (27), Petra Kvitova (25)*, Amelie Mauresmo (25), Jana Novotna (24), Victoria Azarenka (20)*, Nancy Richey (19), Simona Halep (18)*, Svetlana Kuznetsova (18)*, Kerry Melville Reid (17), Mary Pierce (17), Ann Haydon Jones (16), Ana Ivanovic (15), Jennifer Capriati (14)
=F (7)=
Pam Shriver (21), Aga Radwanska (20)*, Manuela Maleeva (19), Elena Dementieva (16), Jelena Jankovic (15)*, Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (15), Zina Garrison (14)
=SF (1)=
Nadia Petrova (13)
=QF (1)=
Elina Svitolina (13)*

*MOST SINGLES TITLES - LAST 3 SEASONS, 2016-18*
10 - ELINA SVITOLINA = 1/5/4
8 - Petra Kvitova = 2/1/5
7 - Simona Halep = 3/1/3
7 - Caroline Wozniacki = 2/2/3
7 - Karolina Pliskova = 2/3/2
6 - Kiki Bertens = 1/2/3
5 - Angelique Kerber = 3/0/2
5 - Sloane Stephens = 3/1/1
5 - Caroline Garcia = 2/2/1

*JUNIOR MASTERS FINALS at Chengdu*
2015 Xu Shilin/CHN d. Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK
2016 Anna Blinkova/RUS d. Katie Swan/GBR
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Kaja Juvan/SLO
2018 Clara Burel/FRA d. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL

*WTA SECOND SEASON-ENDING EVENT FINALS*
[TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, 2009-11 Bali/2012-14 Sofia]
2009 Aravane Rezai/FRA d. Marion Bartoli/FRA
2010 Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Alisa Kleybanova/RUS
2011 Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP
2012 Nadia Petrova/RUS d. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
2013 Simona Halep/ROU d. Samantha Stosur/AUS
2014 Andrea Petkovic/GER d. Flavia Pennetta/ITA
[ELITE TROPHY, 2015-xx Zhuhai, CHN]
2015 Venus Williams/USA d. Karolina Pliskova/CZE
2016 Petra Kvitova/CZE d. Elina Svitolina/UKR
2017 Julia Goerges/GER d. CoCo Vandeweghe/USA
2018 ?
[ELITE TROPHY - Doubles Champions]
2015 Liang Chen/Wang Yafan, CHN
2016 Ipek Soylu/Xu Yifan, TUR/CHN
2017 Duan Yingying/Han Xinyu, CHN/CHN
2018 ?



*2018 WEEKS AT DOUBLES #1 - to December 24*
16 - Latisha Chan, TPE
13 - Timea Babos, HUN
10 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA/KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE
8 - Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
5 - Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS












ELITE TROPHY; ZHUHAI, CHINA (Hard Court Indoor)
=SINGLES PLAYERS=
Dasha Kasatkina
Anastasija Sevastova
Aryna Sabalenka
Elise Mertens
Julia Goerges
Madison Keys
Garbine Muguruza
Caroline Garcia
Ash Barty
Anett Kontaveit
Wang Qiang
Zhang Shuai (WC)
=DOUBLES TEAMS=
Buzarnescu/Rosolska
Kato/Ninomiya
L.Kichenok/N.Kichenok
Aoyama/Marozava
Jiang Xinyu/Yang Zhaoxuan (WC)
Xun Fangying/Tang Qianhui (WC)



MUMBAI, INDIA (WTA 125/Hard Court)
=WS FINALS=
2012 Elina Svitolina def. Kimiko Date-Krumm
2013-16 NOT HELD
2017 Aryna Sabalenka def. Dalina Jakupovic
=WD FINALS=
2012 Bratchikova/Kalashnikova d. J.Glushko/Lertcheewakarn
2013-16 NOT HELD
2017 V.Rodriguez/Schoofs def. Jakupovic/Khromacheva
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Zheng Saisai, #2 Jakupovic
WD: #1 Jakupovic/Khromacheva, #2 Hibino/Kalashnikova



And, finally...

"Peanuts" was *always* more than it seemed on the surface (just read some of the very early strips, in storyline sequence, to see the inspiration Schulz provided the likes of Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" and others...)





All for now.
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