RG.6- Love and War in the Time of The Radwanska

History sometimes turns on the smallest of events and individuals. At this Roland Garros, it might have been Brad Gilbert. For, let it be known, his was the mouth that (might have) saved the world.

If The Radwanska's Plan had been under the radar through this slam's early days, Gilbert managed to expose it the other day. When he went public with the notion that Petra Kvitova might be about to be upset by Urszula Radwanska in the 2nd Round, a totally preposterous notion that The Rad didn't think anyone would take seriously enough to repeat, a light was shone on The Radwanska's sinister machinations. Maybe if the player linked to the false information, whispered by one of The Minions into the ears of Gilbert and, likely, others too prudent to repeat it, hadn't been named Radwanska, this little moment would have slipped by unnoticed. Instead, it put everyone on alert. While the long, convoluted lead-up to Eva Asderaki's "role" in the departure of RG fave Serena Williams the other day hasn't been inextricably linked to A-Rad's press room attacks on the noise made by two other players in particular -- not so coincidentally, the only two players ranked above her -- the same couldn't be said this time. Gilbert's notions were so crazy that they almost literally SMELLED suspicious.

The Rad's test of Gilbert's loyalty seems to have totally backfired. Sometimes, even The Radwanska reaps what it sows. On Day 6, the blowback got personal, too. With A-Rad coming off her domination of Venus Williams in the 2nd Round, she met up on Friday with '09 RG champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. And the Russian wiped her out (hmmm, could the "Kuznetsova Curse" gene that Sveta carries be some sort of Radwanskian Kryponite? Interesting.). Kuznetsova jumped to a 5-0 1st set lead, and never looked back, winning 6-1/6-2. So, ever since Gilbert and The U-Rad Incident, THE Radwanska has seen A-Rad lose her blood relation sidekick, get knocked off in doubles, and now this. It would seem that The Plan is kaput.

Well, unless there are a few sleeper agents still out there doing The Rad's bidding after the original war has been lost. Of course, I guess there IS also the possibility of The Rad acting like an imprisoned mob boss and controlling things from a distance, keeping It's hands clean in order to avoid the repercussions that would occur should It's sinister Plan be tracked back to the doorstep of It's dark lair. Still, it would seem that we can all now take a breath and sleep tonight, content in the knowledge that we -- and the players of the WTA -- are safe from The Radwanska.

Unless we don't really understand the TRUE nature of The Plan, that is. (Ooh, did anyone else just feel a chill run up their spine?)

Could it be that The Plan was never about getting Agnieszka a slam title? The Radwanska is such a complicated opponent, every angle MUST be covered until proven otherwise. So, consider this: while A-Rad was able to be more than humbled ON the court, it's possible that The Radwanska will still have a hand in what remains of this Roland Garros. Could it be that The Rad is actually selfless, and The Plan is actually about getting A-Rad's good friend Caroline Wozniacki, or even her short-lived doubles partner Angelique Kerber (who came back from a set down to defeat Flavia Pennetta today), into the winner's circle? Putting The Radwanska there, as well... by proxy? Just to prove It could do it.

Or maybe it's just an anyone-but-Vika-or-Maria situation. Aha! Now there's The Radwanska that we know and "love"... err, I mean LOVE.

(I didn't mean anything by it, Great Radwanska. I promise. For Tennis Gods' sake, have mercy on me. Please!)



=DAY 6 NOTES=
...aside from A-Rad's loss, it wasn't a good day otherwise for The Radwanska, either, if It's looking to find a way to keep Vika or Maria from lifting the Coupe de Suzanne Lenglen next weekend. Once again, The Rad's actions had unintended consequences, as maybe the double dose of Vika and Maria (due to Sharapova's Day 5 match being pushed to Day 6 because of the Mathieu/Isner 5:41 match) today proved too much for A-Rad herself to overcome, while The Radwanska's greatest foes were given an additional confidence boost.

Maria Sharapova, finally playing her 2nd Rounder, destroyed her second straight opponent, defeating Ayumi Morita 6-1/6-1. After outdistancing Alexandra Cadantu 18-0 in winners in her double-bagel 1st Rounder, the Russian put up a 22-1 advantage in the category today. If you don't want to do the math yourself, that an overall 24-2 advantage in games, and 40-1 in winners.

Elsewhere, the Belarusian Brawler won out over Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4/6-4.

...after such wonderful past matchups as their dramatic 3:16 classic at last year's U.S. Open and the 2:47 follow-up in Indian Wells a few months ago, the Samantha Stosur/Nadia Petrova clash today had the potential to be something special. Except that it wasn't. Leading 6-3/4-3, Stosur committed a bad forehand error that gave Petrova a break point that might have turned the match. But rather than crumble and let the contest slip away (as she might have done a few seasons ago), Stosur buckled down to hold, confidently gesturing to her team in the players box afterward, then broke Petrova to win 6-3/6-3.

Oh, Nadia. I did all I could.

...Ana Ivanovic met her natural slam end on Day 6, as well, losing to Sara Errani 1-6/7-5/6-3 after having started out the day looking like she was ready to begin to at least attempt to assume the RG mantle left her by Justine Henin's surprise retirement back in the spring of 2008. Throughout the early match, Chris Fowler and the like were having a grand old time singing her praises on ESPN2 as she raced to an "insurmountable" ONE SET LEAD. But, as anyone who's seen Ivanovic play over the four years since her '08 title run in Paris, it was WAY too early to make any declarative statement about her play in the match. When it comes to AnaIvo, there is ALWAYS a lingering sense that she is struggling to stay a step ahead of the Grand Slam Reaper. She's waged nothing but a losing battle in this contest for years, and today was no different. As the match began to slip away, from the vantage point of a 6-1/4-4 AnaIvo lead, the pattern was clear, whether the ESPNers wanted to appropriately foreshadow the end result or not.

AnaIvo is one of few European tennis stars that ESPN2 manages to give the time of day (just listen to Michael Wilbon on "Pardon the Interruption" when her names comes up). Quite possibly it's because she's one of the more beautiful women's tennis #1's ever. Maybe it's just because, like a certain Belgian who shall remain nameless, it's just because the actual tennis ESPNers take to her personality. Whatever the heart of the reason, AnaIvo today was treated by the commentators like, well, an American player, as Fowler & Co. tended to want to make excuses for her loss AFTER the match, after having downplayed her opponent, and eventual conqueror, Errani DURING the contest.

While I'll give Mary Joe Fernandez credit for fighting against the tone her colleagues seemed intent on setting, it was clear that Errani's talents were being largely brushed off during the commentary of the match. While they would probably never admit it, to call a player a "claycourt specialist" -- as Errani often was on ESPN2 today -- IS American tennis shorthand for "she's really only good on this stuff that the Americans can't play on, so don't think she's REALLY all that great." It's the very definition of a backhanded compliment. Fact is, while Errani IS more proficient on clay than any other surface (she's won three CC titles in the past three months, just one more than the four indoor hardcourt titles that the Serb has won in the four YEARS since she won RG), but she ALSO reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January, as well.

That's something that Ivanovic hasn't done on ANY surface in the now sixteen slams she's played since she won in Paris in '08.

...hmmm, I didn't really think Serena would stick around to play the WHOLE Mixed Doubles competition since she was out of the singles so early. Turns out, she won't have to. Oh, she DID play with Bob Bryan. But their partnership lasted a grand total of one match, as they lost today to Gisela Dulko & Eduardo Schwank by a 7-5/3-6/10-6 final score. Ah, more time to rest and get ready for the grass court season.

...LIKES FROM DAY 6:

-- Sloane Stephens. I've pretty much said it before, and I'll pretty much say it again.

The 19-year old, improving-almost-every-time-out woman was the first to advance to the Round of 16 today with her win over "Last Pastry" Mathilde Johansson. She'll next face Stosur. But, as usual, it's all the non-tennis things about the Bannerette that lead me to believe that, if she ever wins anything big, she's going to "take over the world" (via appearing on every single talk show available, and making all sorts of new fans in the process).

The megawatt smile (perfect for a late night spot on Leno or Dave). The sparking on-air personality (hey, Sloane -- how'd you like to co-host "The Talk" or "The View" for a day?). Tweets like the one she had the other day: "You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good. You play good, they pay good." She's just an American sports superstar waiting to happen, as she'd join Sharapova as the two most-marketable female athletes on U.S. television. A true crossover presence that might just keep the sport alive and well in the States once the Williams Era is actually over. And maybe even kick it up a notch, for that matter.

At this point, I'll even give her a "pass" for saying that she thinks that the way her idol Kim Clijsters plays is "just about perfect," since the WAY she plays is one of the few things that has never really been as issue around here when it's come to KC over the years. Hey, we're GOOD now, though... of course, that's a whole lot easier when she's not playing. Haha.

-- Tennis Channel's new "Chicks on Bricks" segment, where Mary Carillo and Rennae Stubbs stand around and "shoot the bull" about whatever topic that seems interesting... though I would love a better title, and maybe it shouldn't be inserted into the telecast whenever the network COULD be showing EITHER #1-ranked player in the world, both of whom were on the court when the short segment debuted today.

-- Even Patrick McEnroe calling Djokovic's attempt to win four straight slams as a potential "NoleSlam." Maybe it'll win out, after all. Of course, Nadal might have a say in all this.

Speaking of P-Mac, an interesting little moment occurred during the coverage of the Tomas Berdych/Kevin Anderson match, as McEnroe read the statistical notes provided him by the ESPN2 crew, which gave the career five-set record for Berdych. After reading it, McEnroe, "That can't be right. He has to have played more than that. Somebody check that out for me" (or words to that effect). A few minutes later, he got the correct stats. Finally, proof that someone at ESPN2 actually pays attention to what they're saying, and that the people behind the scenes sometimes need to be kicked in the butt so that the on-air talent doesn't dispense incorrect info. Not that there was ever any doubt about that before today.

...and, finally, as always at a slam, no matter how well she plays on clay, Anabel Medina-Garrigues' time in the draw is limited. After notching two wins at this Roland Garros, she was finally dumped out by unseeded Petra Martic today. Okay, here's where I'm obliged to once again note that AMG is STILL linked in history with Anna Smashnova as the only players to ever win double-digit WTA singles titles but never reach a slam Final 8. There, that's another Daily Backspin slam ritual checked off the list. By the way, this was AMG's 40th career slam. The Spanish vet, who'll turn 30 in July, reached the 3rd Round in Paris, meaning that she's accomplished that feat at three consecutive slams -- a career-best run of slam consistency, by the way. Her career slam match record now stands at 42-40. Only 193 wins behind another 30-year old -- Roger Federer. All right, I KNOW that was unfair.

Keep on fighting the good fight, AMG.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. #15 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #6 Samantha Stosur/AUS
#26 Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS vs. #21 Sara Errani/ITA
#10 Angelique Kerber/GER vs. Petra Martic/CRO
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx

*MEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #22 Andreas Seppi/ITA
#18 Stanislas Wawrinka/SUI vs. #5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA
#3 Roger Federer/SUI vs. (LL) David Goffin/BEL
#9 Juan Martin del Potro/ARG vs. #7 Tomas Berdych/CZE
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx
xx vs. xx




*MEDINA-GARRIGUES' CAREER SLAM RESULTS*
0 - W
0 - RU
0 - SF
0 - QF
3 - 4th
12 - 3rd (w/ 2012 AO & RG)
9 - 2nd
16 - 1st




TOP QUALIFIER: Kiki Bertens/NED
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: #1q Kiki Bertens/NED d. Annika Beck/GER 6-1/4-6/9-7
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Virginie Razzano/FRA d. #5 Serena Williams/USA 4-6/7-6(5)/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: #6 Samantha Stosur/AUS (def. Baltacha/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Mona Barthel/GER (lost 1st Rd. to Lauren Davis/USA)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: France
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Romania (1-5 in 1st Rd; A.Cadantu double-bageled & 18 total points)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARDS STANDING: Claire Feuerstein/FRA, Melanie Oudin/USA & Irena Pavlovic/FRA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Mathilde Johansson/FRA (3rd Rd.)
IT: Nominee: S.Stephens
MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY: xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Spanish women, S.Kuznetsova
CRASH & BURN: #5 Serena Williams/USA (lost 1st Rd. to Razzano/FRA; led 6-4 & 5-1 in 2nd set tie-break; was 46-0 in career slam 1st Rd. matches)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominee: #1 Azarenka (down 7-6/4-0, BPs for 5-0 to Brianti in 1st Rd.)
JOIE DE VIVRE: Nominees: Razzano/FRA, Schiavone/ITA & Sharapova/RUS
DOUBLES STAR xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 6. More tomorrow.