Monday, September 07, 2015

US.8 - The Labors of Simona


Pardon me, Miss Halep... but your "Simonativity" is showing.



In a U.S. Open display of Swarmette perseverance, the match notes for Halep's day ultimately looked a little like this:

Play. Errors. Drop serve. Break. Fight. Wince. Struggle. Drop serve. Break. Wince. Struggle. Limp. Fall behind. Treat. Struggle. Throw racket. Run down balls. Fight. Wince. Fight. Punch the air. Run. Hit winners. Watch opponent fall away. Fight. Win. Raise arms in victory.

It was that "simple."

For most of today's Round of 16 match against Sabine Lisicki, Simona Halep looked like a poor soul seeking a place to curl up and pass the day away. She was simply out of sorts, and appeared as if she could be in a bad way very soon. Her game was off. She was committing too many errors. She couldn't hold serve. It was exceedingly hot in New York on this Labor Day and -- oh, yeah -- Halep was injured, too. Bending over and wincing in pain throughout the last half of the 1st set, she finally relented before the 2nd and called for the first of multiple visits from a trainer to treat a thigh injury that threatened to take away her game's biggest asset -- her speed and court coverage.

Check that, maybe her mind and heart play just as much of a role in her success. Theoretically, at least.

That wasn't the case for much of this season, as the pressure seemed to be getting to the Romanian world #2. The player who entered the season seeming to be an expert in figuring out her opponents and finding a way to win became one often looking for an escape hatch. Moments of self-examination following disappointing results, a juggling of coaches and a little bit of time off heading into the hard court season, though, seem to have worked wonders. A few weeks ago in Toronto, Halep battled the elements, both internal and external, in the final against Belinda Bencic. She didn't win it. In fact, she retired in the 3rd set. But getting the match to that stage in the physical condition she was in at the time was a victory in itself.

Moments like that one were likely subconsciously called upon by Halep today against Lisicki.

In the 1st set, the #24-seeded German managed to carve out break advantages for herself, only to be unable to consolidate her success. She broke Halep for both 2-0 and 4-2 leads, only to give the breaks right back. Halep, grabbing at her left leg and bending over in pain throughout, broke Lisicki to take her first lead, and even reached set point at 5-4, only to then be broken for a third time in the 1st. Down 5-6, love/30, Halep held to force a tie-break. There, she led 5-4 and was serving two points. At 6-5, she held a second set point. But Lisicki ran off the final three points to win the TB at 8-6.

Between sets, Halep was treated in the changeover area for a thigh injury, and she didn't look all too hopeful. The chances of her being able to come back and force a 3rd set AND win it didn't look good, even as the 2nd set wore on toward what seemed as if it could be another disappointing end.

But she didn't fold. Oh, she still couldn't hold serve... but neither could Lisicki. While Halep won just one point combined in her second and third serve games, eight of the first nine games between the two women in the 2nd set featured service breaks. It keep the Romanian in the game. Literally.

Halep grabbed a 4-2 lead when Lisicki strung together errors, committing her forty-second by just the nineteenth game of the match to hand the Romanian the lead. It was the opportunistic/fortunate Halep's six converted break point in six chances on the day. Naturally, she gave the break back the very next game with an error of her own. She threw her racket in frustration as she walked with an Old West-style limp to the changeover area.

But try as she might, Lisicki couldn't take advantage of Halep's vulnerable state. A (suddenly rare) ace was followed up by a double-fault as she fell down 15/40 in game #8. Another error gave Halep a 5-3 lead as the German's serve was broken for the fourth straight time in the set. Still, Halep couldn't serve out the 2nd. After the two managed to hold in back-to-back games, Halep finally seized her moment in game #12, winning a two-deuce game and pulling off the set-claiming eighth break of serve on her eighth BP chance of the match. Suddenly, Halep had life. But could she survive?



With the heat rule in effect, the two left the court for a ten-minute break, and when they returned Halep's "Simonativity" was fully charged.
Suddenly it was Lisicki who was stretching in the back court (cramping?), while Halep was no longer as noticeably limping and seemed to be getting stronger with every game. In game #6, Halep followed up a down the line shot with a crosscourt backhand volley winner to break serve for a 4-2 lead. She punched the air, and you sort of knew how this was all going to end.



Halep recovered from a 15/30 hole on serve a game later. Lisicki's wild return miss set the stage for a hold by the Romanian for 5-2. The German had staged a comeback from a 5-1 deficit in the 3rd set against Barbora Strycova in her last match, but the Swarmette had a little something EXTRA on her side. Just enough of it to get her by.

In the final game, Halep broke Lisicki at love, finishing off a 6-7(6)/7-5/6-2 victory in 2:38 to reach her first U.S. Open quarterfinal.



In all, Lisicki had seventy-two unforced errors in a match that featured seventeen breaks of serve. It wasn't a work of art by any means. But that sort of thing tends to happen when the German is involved in a momentum-shifting affair such as this. For Halep, though, this was something of an abstract masterpiece. She didn't play very well, but she battled through her inconsistency, the heat and her own barking body. She converted ten of eleven BP chances, winning 55% of her return points while the big-serving Lisicki won just 50% of points on her own 1st serve and had just two aces on the day. Meanwhile, Haleps' scrambling style had her putting in far more work moving around the court than Lisicki. She covered 8693 feet compared to 7007 by the German.

And Simona felt every single step, too. Ultimately, in a good way. If not tonight, then some day down the road.

Thankfully, "Simonativity" comes in a handy travel size, too.



=DAY 8 NOTES=
...Halep's next challenge will come in the form of an ex-#1 from Belarus.

On the heels of her super-aggressive performance against Angelique Kerber one round ago, #20 Victoria Azarenka had no issues about repeating herself in the Round of 16 match against unseeded American Varvara Lepchenko. Returning from a position inside the baseline, Vika cramped Lepchenko's game all day long. Playing with some tape on her thigh and both biceps (she told Rennae Stubbs afterward that she'd gotten blisters form her new Nike outfit rubbing against her skin), and having dealt with more foot issues during the summer, the reinvigorated Azarenka's main goal on the day was to "pinish" -- punish and finish.

And that's what she did to the tune of a 6-3/6-4 victory that sends her into her fifteen career slam QF, and her fourth at the U.S. Open, where she's twice reached the final (losing two tight three-setters to Serena Williams).

Azarenka broke Lepchenko to secure a 6-3 1st set, and while Lepchenko never went away in the 2nd there really little notion that it was going to amount to anything on this day. She broke Azarenka to start the set, but with Vika sporting quite possibly the best return game on the women's tour, the advantage didn't last long. She broke back a game later. While Lepchenko did all the right things -- even directing a loud yell and clenched fist in Azarenka's direction after a particularly good point to show she didn't plan on folding -- it was just a matter of time before Vika took the final step. A late break gave Azarenka the chance to serve for the match at 5-3. She failed to do so there, but immediately broke Lepchenko a game later to, well, finish... even if the punish part wasn't quite in full evidence down the stretch.



The final stats were quite close. Both players had nineteen winners, while Lepchenko's unforced errors (19) were barely more than Azarenka's (16) total. But the Belarusian held a fourteen-point advantage (67-53) in the final count, winning 70% of her own 1st serves while being able to keep her opponent's success rate down at 53%.

...in the other Round of 16 match on the daytime schedule, #26 Flavia Pennetta advanced to her sixth career U.S. Open QF (and fourth in her last four appearances) with a straight sets victory over the 2011 Open champ, #22 Samantha Stosur. It was a match-up of two players in their thirties, and the winner would be the fourth thirtysomething in the final eight at this slam.



The Italian served at 5-4 in the 1st, saving two break points before holding to take the set. Stosur went 0-for-4 in BP opportunities in the 1st, then didn't even get a look at one in the 2nd set. Pennetta served things out once again to win, claiming her fourteenth set off Stosur in the sixteen they've played over eight career match-ups (all on hard court, by the way), all of which have been won by the Italian.

Pennetta reached the semis in Flushing Meadows in 2013, and next faces the winner of tonight's Kvitova/Konta match for the right to return there.

...in the night session-opening final Round of 16 match, a somewhat sluggish #5 Petra Kvitova downed qualifier Johanna Konta 7-5/6-3, winning the big points that mattered most as the Australia-born Brit's inexperience showed at all the worst times.



Konta actually had a look at five BP opportunities on the Czech's serve in the 1st set, but failed to convert any of them. Meanwhile, Kvitova didn't have a single break point chance on hers... until the final point of the set. Serving down 5-6, Konta's double-fault handed Kvitova the 1st. Nothing much changed in the 2nd, except for the fact that Konta never got another BP on the Czech's serve. Kvitova, huffing and puffing in the final games, converted her only BP chance in the set to take a 5-3 lead... once again via a Konta DF.

Kvitova served out the match, finally winning on her third MP when the Brit fired a return long. The win is Kvitova's eighth straight, while Konta's 16-match hard court win streak comes to an end. This is the Czech's very first U.S. Open quarterfinal, and her first at any major since she won last year's Wimbledon (she put up three QF-or-better slam results in the four majors following her maiden title at SW19 in 2011). She'll face Pennetta in two days time.

...in junior action, upsets were afoot... and we've got a genuine Andrianjafitrimo Alert! Yes!

Pastry Tessah Andrianjafitrimo took out #5-seeded Brit Katie Swan, who retired down 7-6(5)/3-0 and had to be helped off the court in the heat. So, finally, it's happening...






Awwl, I was on top of this story MONTHS AGO! Haha.

Elsewhere, Hordette Elena Rybakina defeated Bannerette Claire Liu (who defeated Jana Cepelova during the woman's qualifying) 7-6(4)/6-2, and Anastasia Detiuc of Moldova knocked off Hurricane Tyra Black, who matches her sister Tornado's 1st Round exit. India's Karmen Thandi defeated #16-seeded German Katharina Hobgarski, and Brit Emily Arbuthnutt took out American Ingrid Neel. Meanwhile, another Bannerette, Raveena Kingsley, defeated this weekend's Canadian Open champ Bianca Andreescu 6-1/6-1 in under an hour. Kingsley defeated veteran Andrea Hlavackova in the women's Q-rounds before the start of MD play.


...in doubles, Kristina Mladenovic's doubles run at this Open ended somewhat surprisingly as, less than twenty-four hours after she reached her first slam singles QF, Kiki and Timea Babos (the #3 seeds) lost to Lara Arruabarrena & Andreja Klepac in three sets. The Pastry's singles QF opponent, Roberta Vinci, lost in doubles on Day 8, as well. The Italian and countrywoman Karin Knapp were tripped up before they could reach the final eight by the all-Hordette combo of Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.



In the mixed, if you believe in omens, then Martina Hingis & Leander Paes can go ahead and clear a space in their trophy cases for some U.S. Open Mixed title hardware. The vets are into the QF after having played just one match through three rounds. They opened things with a win over the wild card junior duo of Claire Liu & Harry Taylor Fritz (a combined 32 in age, less than the nearly 35-year old Hingis half of their opposing duo on that day), but then got a walkover past Bouchard/Kyrgios due to the Canadian's concussion. Today they received another pass when Halep (w/ Horia Tecau) pulled out of their Day 8 match-up following her long singles victory over Lisicki. Come on, USTA... you can't give a would-be quarterfinalist and world #2 a break and schedule that match for tomorrow?

The first semifinalists at this Open were determined when #2-seeded Chan Yung-Jan & Rohan Bopanna defeated Hsieh Su-Wei & Henri Kontinen, saving a MP in a 13-11 3rd set breaker.




LIKE FROM DAY 8: Because this is worth another look from Night 7...




SOLIDARITY FROM DAY 8: When Vika saves Rennae Stubbs from total embarrassment during their on-court interview, brushing by a discussion of her next opponent when Stubbs drew a blank on who it was that Halep was actually going to be playing. Oops.




Of course, Stubbs' condition is colloquially known as ESPN-itis.

LIKE FROM DAY 8: It's Vera's birthday!



...and, finally... should there have ever been any doubt?




Well, I guess you never know.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. #23 Venus Williams/USA
Kristina Mladenovic/FRA vs. Roberta Vinci/ITA
#5 Petra Kvitova/CZE vs. #26 Flavia Pennetta/ITA
#20 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. #2 Simona Halep/ROU

*MEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #18 Feliciano Lopez/ESP
#19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA vs. #9 Marin Cilic/CRO
#5 Stan Wawrinka/SUI vs. #15 Kevin Anderson/RSA
#6 Tomas Berdych/CZE or #12 Richard Gasquet/FRA vs. #13 John Isner/USA or #2 Roger Federer/SUI

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 M.Hingis/S.Mirza (SUI/IND) vs. #9 Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan (TPE/TPE)
#15 L.Arruabarrena/A.Klepac (ESP/SLO) vs. #11 S.Errani/F.Pennetta (ITA/ITA)
#12 A.Kudrayvtseva/A.Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/RUS) vs. #4 C.Dellacqua/Y.Shvedova (AUS/KAZ)
A.Groenefeld/C.Vandeweghe (GER/USA) vs. #5 C.Garcia/K.Srebotnik (FRA/SLO)

*MEN'S DOUBLES QF*
S.Johnson/S.Querrey (USA/USA) or (WC) M.Russell/D.Young (USA/USA) vs. L.Mayer/J.Sousa (ARG/BRA)
#4 M.Matkowski/N.ZImonjic (POL/SRB) vs. #8 J.Murray/J.Peers (GBR/AUS)
#12 P.Herbert/N.Mahut (FRA/FRA) vs. #3 Rojer/Tecau (NED/ROU)
#6 Bopanna/Mergia (IND/ROU) vs. D.Inglot/R.Lindstedt (GBR/SWE)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
A.Hlavackova/L.Kubot (CZE/POL) vs. An.Rodionova/M.Mirnyi (AUS/BLR)
B.Mattek-Sands/S.Querrey (USA/USA) vs. #6 Y.Shvedova/J.Cabal (KAZ/COL)
S.Halep/H.Tecau (ROU/ROU) vs. #4 M.Hingis/L.Paes (SUI/IND)
#2 Y.Chan/R.Bopanna (TPE/IND) def. SW.Hsieh/H.Kontinen (TPE/FIN)











Brah

A photo posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on

Brah is annoyed ??????

A photo posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on

?? see ya later New York ??

A photo posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on






*2015 U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
42...Serena Williams, USA
35...Venus Williams, USA
15...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
9...Petra Kvitova, CZE
7...Flavia Pennetta, ITA
5...Simona Halep, ROU
3...Roberta Vinci, ITA
1...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
[by career US QF]
13 - Serena Williams
11 - Venus Williams
6 - Flavia Pennetta
4 - Victoria Azarenka
3 - Roberta Vinci
1 - Simona Halep
1 - Petra Kvitova
1 - Kristina Mladenovic
[by 2015 WTA QF]
11 - Simona Halep
9 - Serena Williams
7 - Petra Kvitova
6 - Kristina Mladenovic
5 - Venus Williams
5 - Roberta Vinci
4 - Victoria Azarenka
4 - Flavia Pennetta
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
5...Serena Williams
2...Victoria Azarenka
[w/ consecutive US QF]
5...Serena Williams (2011-15; also in last 8 appearances)
4...Victoria Azarenka
3...Flavia Pennetta (2013-15; also in last 4 appearances)
[2015 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Madison Keys, USA
RG - Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
RG - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
WI - Coco Vandeweghe, USA
US - Roberta Vinci, ITA
[2015 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Madison Keys, USA
RG - Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
RG - Elina Svitolina, UKR
RG - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
WI - Coco Vandeweghe, USA
US - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
[2015 slam QF]
4 - SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
2 - VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR
2 - Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
2 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU
2 - Madison Keys, USA
2 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
2 - VENUS WILLIAMS, USA
[2015 slam QF - by nation]
9...USA (S.Williams,V.Williams)
3...ITA(Pennetta,Vinci),RUS
2...BLR(Azarenka),CZE(Kvitova),ESP,ROU(Halep),SUI
1...BEL,CAN,FRA(Mladenovic),POL,SRB,SVK,UKR
[WTA career slam QF - active]
42...SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
35...VENUS WILLIAMS, USA
23...Maria Sharapova, RUS
15...VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR
15...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
11...Aga Radwanska, POL
9...PETRA KVITOVA, CZE
9...Nadia Petrova, RUS
8...Ana Ivanovic, SRB
8...Jelena Jankovc, SRB
[WTA slam QF - 2010-15 - active]
14...SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
13...VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR
10...Maria Sharapova, RUS
9...PETRA KVITOVA, CZE
8...Aga Radwanska, POL
7...Sara Errani, ITA
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

*UNSEEDED IN U.S. OPEN 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, BEL
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

**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
[2015]
AO: [Madisons] Madison Keys/USA & Madison Brengle/USA
RG: [Swarmette] Andreea Mitu, ROU
WI: [Vandeweghe] Coco Vandeweghe, USA
US: [Kiki] Kristina Mladenovic, FRA

**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
[2015]
AO: Victoria Azarenka, BLR
RG: Ana Ivanovic, SRB
WI: Aga Radwanska, POL
US: Victoria Azarenka, BLR

**U.S. OPEN "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS**
2006 E.Birnerova/CZE,Y.Fedossova/FRA,K.Flipkens/BEL,V.Lepchenko/UZB,A.Radwanska/POL (2nd)
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)
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)
2015 Johanna Konta/GBR & Anett Kontaveit/EST (4th Rd.)
[2015]
AO: Lucie Hradecka, CZE (3rd Rd.)
RG: L.Dominguez-Lino/ESP, P.Kania/POL, S.Karatantcheva/BUL, T.Pereira/BRA (2nd Rd.)
WI: Olga Govortsova, BLR (4th Rd.)
US: Johanna Konta/GBR & Anett Kontaveit/EST (4th Rd.)

*BACKSPIN 2015 MONTHLY "DOUBLES" WINNERS*
JAN: Martina Hingis, SUI
FEB: Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic,FRA/FRA
MAR: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
1Q: Martina Hingis, SUI
APR/MAY: Sania Mirza, IND
MAY/JUN: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
RG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2Q Clay Court: Bethanie Mattek-S./Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
JUN: Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears, USA/USA
2Q Grass Court/WI: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
JUL/AUG: Belinda Bencic/Kristina Mladenovic, SUI/FRA
AUG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
[2015 Weekly DOUBLES Wins]
5...Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
3...Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith, GBR/GBR
2...Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan, TPE/TPE
2...Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova, AUS/KAZ
2...Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP
2...Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED (WC)
2...Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears, USA/USA





TOP QUALIFIER: (WC) Jessica Pegula/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Tereza Mrdeza/CRO d. #2 Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ 5-7/7-6(8)/7-6(4) [3:12; saved 3 MP]
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #12 Belinda Bencic/SUI d. Misaki Doi/JPN 5-7/7-6(3)/6-3 (down 3 MP in 2nd; outburst/crying/no shake umpire's hand)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. - #20 Azarenka d. #11 Kerber 7-5/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 2nd Rd. - Cetkovska/CZE d. #4 Wozniacki/DEN 6-4/5-7/7-6(1) (saved 4 MP; ended 12:12 a.m. after 3:02)
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Mariana Duque/COL (def. Kenin/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #7 Ana Ivanovic/SRB (lost 1st Rd. to Cibulkova/SVK)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Japan
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Serbia (1-4; #7 Ivanovic, #21 Jankovic and '14 star Aleksandra Krunic out in 1st Rd.)
CRASH & BURN: #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. loss to Tatishvili/USA; :52; U.S. Open Series "winner")
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (LL) Daria Kasatkina/RUS (lucky loser, reached3rd Round after wins over Gavrilova & Konjuh -- best LL slam result since 1997, best at Open since 1993)
IT ("Kiki"): Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Vinci, Pennetta, V.Williams
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Johnna Konta/GBR & Anett Kontaveit/EST (both 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In QF: S.Williams, V.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: #20 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
KIMIKO DATE-KRUMM VETERAN CUP (KDK CUP): Nominee: Vinci, V.Williams, Pennetta
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominees: Cetkovska, Raymond (farewell performance)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Kvitova, Cetkovska, S.Williams, Mladenovic
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 9:58 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

For the last few days, it's been really hard (slow) to load the site on my iPad. This may be a Blogger problem. I'll keep you posted.

The sister storyline is so huge, I'm afraid other stories are being neglected. Flavia into her 3rd straight qf is one of them. The original Fighting Italian has a career any player would envy, and it has involved her overcoming multiple obstacles, over and over. I wish she got more credit for her incredible mental toughness. Petra flying under the radar is a good thing, of course. (I'm not thrilled with having to watch them play each other.)

Tue Sep 08, 12:51:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Hmmm, I haven't noticed anything, but I usually don't when there's an issue. I haven't changed/added anything recently, though.

Tue Sep 08, 12:59:00 AM EDT  
Blogger jo shum said...

Flavia is interesting. She frustrated the hell out of stosur. Just when thought Sam might be nice to get a tiny shot. But then Flavian vs kvitiva could be fun. Contrasting but should be nice match up.

And of course , Vika and Halep...

Tue Sep 08, 12:01:00 PM EDT  

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