Sunday, June 04, 2017

RG.8- Mashed Potatoes... and Caro?

Well, well. Would you look at that.

#1-seeded Angelique Kerber's quarter of the draw has been in play since the German was bundled out of this draw on Day 1 (and one could make a case that it was as such even *before* she lost, too), and the beneficiaries of the situation have turned out to be... unseeded 19-year old Jelena Ostapenko, who a week ago had never won a match in Paris, and #11 Caroline Wozniacki, who has never exactly been a big fan of the spring dirt season.

All right, then.



The Latvian teenager advanced past former RG finalist Samantha Stosur on Day 8, surging back after dropping the opening set to win 2-6/6-2/6-4 and reach her first career slam quarterfinal. The former Wimbledon girls champ (2014), who's being coached in Paris by none other than Anabel Medina-Garrigues (who *knows* clay court tennis), will climb into the Top 30 (at least) for the first time after this slam.



After the match, Stosur, who came into the day having won eight straight matches, revealed that she's been dealing with a hand injury the last few days and, apparently, her Wimbledon availability could actually be threatened. After failing to back up her '16 semifinalist points, the Aussie will now drop outside the Top 30.

Wozniacki, meanwhile, also went three sets against Svetlana Kuznetsova (shocking, I know) in their very first meeting on clay in their head-to-head series. The Dane, who ended her win over CiCi Bellis with back-to-back aces, again showed more aggression today than she's generally known to employ (though her change in tactics *has* picked up ever since "Big Sascha" Bajin came aboard, armed with years of being part of "gettin' it done" while working with the likes of Serena and Vika.). Wozniacki dominated the 1st set with drops and down the line shots, winning it 6-4.

Kuznetsova, who's played in more Round of 16 matches (12) in Paris than Wozniacki has made trips to Paris to play Roland Garros (10), has never beaten Caro when she's dropped the 1st set. And that stat didn't change today. She only saw her second BP of the match mid-way through the 2nd set, but when she finally *did* break Wozniacki it came at a good time, as it secured the 2nd set at 6-4 and forced a deciding 3rd. But Wozniacki would again seize control there. She only hit three winners in the set, but committed zero UE's, and her overall winner total on the day (26) matched that of the Russian. She took a double-break lead at 3-0, and carried it over to the finish, holding at love to close out the match, hitting another backhand winner down the line on MP to win 6-1/4-6/6-2. This win over the world #9 is only the second Top 30 win in her RG career, which goes back to 2007 and now includes a total of twenty-seven rounds of play.



Any result in Paris was likely gravy for Wozniacki before heading into the summer and fall where she's had more success. With this win, well, she's looking for all the world like a pile of mashed potatoes right about now. (Psst, in this case that's actually a good thing.)


Kuznetsova has lost to the eventual RG finalist nine times in her Parisian history, and five times it was to the ultimate champion. Not only is this Wozniacki's first QF in Paris since 2010, but she's the highest seed remaining in the top half of the draw. Now, of course, she'll next face Ostapenko, who is 3-0 against her (2-0 in '17) and has shown a previous ability to hit her off the court.

The Latvian won in straight sets on hard court in New Haven last summer (the week before Caro's unexpected SF run in New York), then again on the green clay of Charleston this spring, winning the winner battle 40-14. On red clay in Prague, she held a 70-21 advantage (35-6 forehands), but Ostapenko's 51 UE's helped pushed the contest to a 3rd set TB, where she finally won on her sixth MP. This will be a true meeting of opposite styles, and it'll be interesting how the Wozniacki game plan might change due to the experience of the previous encounters. Does she try to be more aggressive, and risk being over-powered, play defense and hope for the previous errors (Ostapenko has had difficulties closing out matches in the past, too, and not just vs. the Dane). Can she and Bajin fashion some way to do *both*, not to mention train her brain in time to do it naturally, even if Ostapenko's power gets on top of her again in the early games of the match? It'll be interesting to see.

The possibility for slam dreams to be answered for someone at this Roland Garros have been apparent from Day 1 (and earlier). Not too many likely believed with true sincerity that the Dane might be legitimately in the mix to rise to the top of the pool of contenders on this surface, though. Not at this event, by far her worst of the four slams. It's been a tough sell getting the Dane to embrace the surface. By all accounts, a multi-week, multi-match (and, now, finally, multi-win) process, it's turned out. But maybe it's working.




While she may bristle at the comparison, especially in light of recent public commentary on her part, sometimes it's the slam that the player doesn't immediately embrace that ultimately proves to be her true proving ground. It surely was for a certain Russian a few years ago. So, hey, why not Caro, too?

Until reality may prove otherwise, at least.



=DAY 8 NOTES=
...of course, specifically, that reality may very well be the tri-color elephant in the room who could be waiting for the Wozniacki/Ostapenko winner in the semifinals. Her name is Kristina Mladenovic. And she went "full Kiki" against defending champ Garbine Muguruza today, for all the good and bad that that entails.



Muguruza had a nervous, erratic start, while Mladenovic played out of her head, winning a 6-1 1st set in just twenty-eight minutes. The Spaniard grabbed an early break lead in the 2nd while Mladenovic struggled with her serve (as she would all day, hitting 16 DF, likely because of her lingering back issues, if she's to be given the benefit of the doubt on just how serious the injury was a week ago). Muguruza won the 2nd at 6-3 to knot the match, but the story of the day quickly became how Mladenovic would rile the always rile-able French crowd. She'd often let loose with shouts after Muguruza errors (usually in the Spaniard's native language, a part of the Kiki psychological arsenal for a while now, it should noted) and otherwise do all the sorts of things she'd rail against if an opponent did it while she was on the other side of the net.

Mladenovic got a break of Muguruza's serve in the opening game of the 3rd, and never relinquished the advantage. After holding for 5-3, she broke Muguruza a game later to win 6-1/3-6/6-3, dethroning the champ and improving her own '17 record vs. the Top 5 to 4-0. She's the first Pastry to reach the RG quarterfinals since Marion Bartoli in 2011. Either Caroline Garcia or Alize Cornet, who play each other, will join her there tomorrow.

Of course, we're talking about Kiki, though. So it can't just be about her beautiful game, or engagingly emotional, energetic, athletic and entertaining brand of tennis. Over the past year or so, there's grown a cringe-worthy aspect to her tour success, as well, both on and off court. And that continued today, too.




When the French crowd, who'd actively been against her (more than just *for* Mladenovic) all day, was obliged to cheer her as she walked off the court in defeat, Muguruza wagged a disapproving finger in the air, essentially saying, "No-no-no, you're not going to play that game now." Naturally, it only brought her a chorus of more boos. In her post match press conference, she needed a moment to collect herself when asked about the whole shouting-and-applauding errors situation. After returning to the microphone, she noted how she's heard that Mladenovic can supposedly "speak 25 languages," so she can do what she wants to do.

Of course, to anyone who's been paying attention, it's become pretty clear that Mladenovic is a bully, both on and off the court, be it when it comes to players she doesn't pal around with (Sharapova, who's big enough to withstand it, but still), those she once did (Garcia, who had the gall to stand up for what she wanted to do in her career, even if Kiki didn't like it) or anyone who happens to get in her way when she has a cheering crowd behind her (hmmm, sounds like a certain U.S. politician, when you think about it). All the wonderful aspects of her tennis can't obscure that clear fact, especially as it's become a much more public thing in the past year as her game has improved and profile has grown. She's now a better player than she's ever been (and that's great to see), but the personal learning curve, where respect for others is concerned (along with a few other personality treats most people pick up as they mature), is severely lacking. On that front, she leaves a great deal to be desired.

Sure, Muguruza should have been expecting the reaction she got from the crowd and Mladenovic. The Paris fans are the easiest to lure into playing the role of finger-pointing bully of all the slam crowds, and if anyone didn't already know that Mladenovic is what she is by now, well, now there's no excuse. Sam Sumyk really should have prepared Muguruza for what she was going to face. She shouldn't have been shocked. The French crowd has turned on the likes of Serena and Rafa in the past, so there's no reason she should have felt immune, reigning champion or not.

Of course, as usual, it's the hypocrisy of the situation on Mladenovic's part that is the most galling. Last summer at the Rio Olympics, we saw how Mladenovic reacts when she thinks that *she* has been wronged. It's all-out-verbal/insult war, and any accusation is open game (hmmm, sounds like a certain orange celebrity/supposed world "leader"...). We saw it again when Garcia broke up their doubles partnership, which won the RG title last year (if you're not with me, you're against me). We saw it when Garcia (and, to a lesser extent, Oceane Dodin) balked at playing Fed Cup, when Mladenovic took to Twitter (hmmm...), along with a crew of "yes-women" (Cornet & Pauline Parmentier, her FC teammates) to troll Garcia's integrity and, later, patriotism. And we saw it in the 1st Round of this RG, too. It was there when we really got a ringside view how Mladenovic responds when things don't go as she'd like. She shouts, whines and generally shifts gears and plays the downtrodden victim, stomping her feet until she gets or way, or causes a scene while doing so. Unfortunately, she was indulged in her childish actions via a poor chair umpiring job. Today, with a willing, mob-ish crowd behind her, she grew three sizes this day, or at least thinks she did. So much so that she saw things through her own Kiki-colored glasses afterward, saying she thought that her and the crowd's reactions were fine (even while complaining in the same breath about how the crowd in the Stuttgart final earlier this spring was so tough on her when she played German Laura Siegemund, not recognizing for a moment that she was in many ways arguing against herself).





And this is a good one. Read how Kik reacts when she thinks an opponent (her next one, in this case) is pushing the rules, something which, of course, her own "values" prevent her from doing, or so she says. Oh, please.



She also admitted today that she hadn't "apologized" to Garcia for her earlier comments, and hasn't really talked to her about it. Oh, I wish someone would ask her if she even believes an apology is necessary, as her answer would reveal oh so much more than mere facts of communication. The truth is, at least for now, Kiki isn't going to change her ways because she doesn't even see that there's any problem with them (hmmm, that sounds familiar, too), as we learned when she later went into it a bit more. It's worth a read... apparently, she's very "big on human values." Okay.



But I guess you can't expect so much from a player who has just battled through her third three-setter in four rounds while also experiencing a back injury so painful that she'd have pulled out of the event if it wasn't Roland Garros. Oh, and because her desire to lay her tennis life on the life for France and the fans is oh-so-strong. Yeah, okay. I'm sure she believes it, though... 100%.

After all, Kiki *is* trying to make French tennis great again. And one wouldn't dare argue with that. Right?

...just when so many were starting to tout Venus Williams as a legitimate contender for this RG crown -- poof! -- she's gone. She was the last of four -- count 'em, four, along with Stosur, Kuznetsova and Muguruza -- former slam winners left in the draw to exit on Day 8, meaning we'll have another first-time slam winner in Paris, the fourth there since 2010, and the fourth in the last seven slams (starting with Flavia Pennetta's '15 U.S. Open win).

**RECENT FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS**
2010 Roland Garros - Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Roland Garros - Li Na, CHN
2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova, CZE
2011 U.S. Open - Samantha Stosur, AUS
2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Wimbledon - Marion Bartoli, FRA
2015 U.S. Open - Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber, GER
2016 Roland Garros - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2017 Roland Garros - ??
[won at RG - Open Era]
1971 Evonne Goolagong, AUS
1974 Chris Evert, USA
1976 Sue Barker, GBR
1977 Mima Jausovec, SLO
1978 Virginia Ruzici, ROU
1987 Steffi Graf, GER
1989 Arantxa Sanchez, ESP
1990 Monica Seles, YUG
1997 Iva Majoli, CRO
2003 Justine Henin, BEL
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Li Na, CHN
2016 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2017 ??
--
NOTE: Ann Haydon-Jones won first at '61 RG, before Open era began in '68

It was Timea Bacsinszky who ended the 36-year old's 2017 RG experience, advancing to her third straight QF in Paris. It took a bit longer than he'd have liked, though. She led Williams 5-1 in the 1st set, but lost her control of the battle when she took a step back and became a bit more tentative after having been pushing Venus back in the court and moving her from side to side throughout what turned out to only be the first half of the set. After twice failing to serve out the 1st, Bacsinszky saw Venus win six straight games and steal it 7-5.

The Swiss woman took a mid-set break lead at 3-2 in the 2nd, and finally took control for good. She won it 6-2, then raced to a 4-0 lead in the 3rd before finally winning 5-7/6-2/6-1. With Muguruza's exit (she had three straight coming in), Bacsinszky is the only player on tour with a streak of three consecutive QF results in Paris. In 2015, she reached the SF, where she led Serena by a set and a break at 6-4/3-2 before letting the match slip away (or be taken away, I suppose).



...oh, yeah, and there were four 3rd Round matches postponed from Saturday that had to be finished today, too.

Petra Martic's "other Petra" run at this Roland Garros continued, as the Croat qualifier, still in the early stages of her comeback after missing nearly ten months due to back surgery, destroyed Anastasija Sevastova, winning 6-1/6-1. Before this slam, the 26-year Croat, who reached the Round of 16 in Paris five years ago, last posted a MD win at a major in 2013 at Wimbledon. Since she was unable to use her protected ranking (she's currently #290, and only that because of some immediate ITF success when she returned this spring -- she was #659 in April) had to go through qualifying to reach the RG main draw. She had to play three tie-breaks against Marina Zanevska in the final Q-round, and likely benefited from Madison Key experiencing pain in her injured wrist in the 2nd Round after having grabbed the opening set against Martic, too.

But that's why players who don't give up generally find their way (see today's ITF section for another). Eventually.



Martic has gone a combined 23-3 this season in ITF and RG qualfiying/MD play, and she'll (at least) climb into the Top 130 in the next rankings.

...meanwhile, Elina Svitolina's brilliant spring clay season added another win to her tour-leading total, the eighth in a row for the Rome champion. She defeated Poland's Magda Linette 6-4/7-5 to reach the 4th Round in Paris for the third straight year.

...Most of the talk about the #1 ranking exchanging hands at the end of this Roland Garros have revolved around Simona Halep. And for good reason, of course. But #2-seeded Karolina Pliskova could become the new #1, as well, and she might not even have to win the title to do it (Halep does). Still maintaining her I'm-not-expecting-much-on-clay mindset, she defeated Carina Witthoeft 7-5/6-1 today, reaching her first RG Round of 16. She's done it at three straight slams, the longest active streak on tour. So there goes that she's-not-very-good-at-the-slam narrative for good, huh? Of course, Serena's reached the 4th Round at *ten* straight majors but, you know, you gotta play to win, as they say. And Pliskova still can. She only needs to reach the final to become #1, and might even face the similarly #1-contending Halep in a semifinal with quite a bit on the line (sort of like that AnaIvo-vs.-JJ RG semi in '08, after Justine Henin had suddenly retired).

R16 ???????????????????? #rg17

A post shared by Karolina Pliskova (@karolinapliskova) on



Pliskova's 4th Round opponent was assured of being a South American, it was just a matter of which one. As it turned out, Paraguay's unseeded Veronica Cepede Royg (world #97) outlasted Colombia's Mariana Duque-Marino to claim the rare all-continental belt (and with Venus losing, I guess she "unofficially" takes the entire Americas crown, too). VCR had to fight to advance. Duque won the opening set, and broke Cepede Royg when she served for the set at 5-4 in the 2nd. But the Paraguayan won a 7-2 TB, then overcame a 3-1 deficit in the 3rd, winning five straight games to take the 3-6/7-6(2)/6-3 victory.



...in doubles, #3 Chan Yung-Jan & Martina Hingis raised their overall record as a duo to 22-3 (11 in a row) when they reached the QF with a win over #13 Kiki Bertens & Johanna Larsson. #1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova survived a challenge from Aleksandra Krunic/Ajla Tomljanovic, winning in three sets, while Raluca Olaru/Olga Savchuk eliminated #9 Gaby Dabrowski/Xu Yifan.

There will be no Mixed Grand Slam in '17, as AO champs Abigail Spears/Juan Sebastian Cabal fell to Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/Marcelo Demoliner in a 15-13 deciding TB.

...junior play has begun in Paris, and three of the girls seeds fell on the first day of action. #8 Carson Branstine (CAN) lost to Spain's Paula Arias Manjon in three sets, #9 Olga Danilovic (SRB) fell to China's Wang Xinyu, and #14 Katarina Zavatska was upset by Brazil's Thaisa Grana Pedretti.

1st Round wins were posted by the likes of #3 Bianca Andreescu (CAN), #4 Marta Kostyuk (AO champ) of Ukraine, Poland's #5 Iga Swiatek, Bannerette #6 Claire Liu and #11 Elena Rybakina (RUS). #7 Whitney Osuigwe (USA) defeated (the Swiss Simona) Waltert, while Hordette Amina Anshba took out Argentina's Maria Lourdes Carle.

...in junior action over the past week, 16-year old Hordette Anhzelika Isaeva (#65) won her first career Grade 1 title at the Astrid Bowl in Charleroi-Maricinelle, Belgium. The #10 seed at the event, Isaeva knocked off the #4 and #7 seeds en route to the final, where she defeated #11 Lulu Sun, another of the growing group of young Swiss players putting up nice junior results.


...on the ITF circuit, are we finally seeing the early stages of the end of one of the more perplexing tennis tailspins in recent years?



Yes, *that* Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

You know, the one who was ranked as high as #26 just seventeen months ago before seeing her results almost completely fall off the table without any apparent injury-related explanation. Entering last week as the #250-ranked player in the world, her $25K title run in Grado, Italy was her first on any level since she defeated Sara Errani to take the WTA's Bucharest crown in July 2015. *That* final was AKS' third on tour in the '15 season, including Rio (lost to Errani) and Katowice (def. Camila Giorgi). There must be something with Italians, as the Slovak today knocked off with recent Fed Cup sudden star Martina Trevisan in a three-set match, winning 2-6/6-2/6-4. The 22-year old also posted victories last week over Daniela Seguel and Julia Glushko, the latter after avoiding a *huge* choke in the semis when she led 6-0/4-0, deuce before sweating out a 6-0/6-4 win.

Schmiedlova has been inching forward in her comeback in recent months, reaching a $25K semifinal in Moscow in February, then another in Wiesbaden in April (she lost to Petra Martic, by the way... so the Croat's success in Paris should be inspirational). With today's victory, AKS is on a 9-3 run.

Meanwhile, in a $15K in Nis, Serbia, Anna Karolina's little sister Kristina, 19, reached the QF.

don't talk to us about sports

A post shared by Kristina Schmiedlova (@kristinaschmiedlova) on



In Wuhan, 23-year old Serb Jovana Jaksic picked up career ITF win #16, winning a $25K title with a 6-0/3-6/6-2 defeat of Liu Fangzhou.



It was a good end to a week that started pretty badly for Jaksic...




I hear Ricky Martin may have performed the exorcism that allowed it all to turn around for her.



Former Notre Dame player Quinn Gleason, 22, won her first career ITF singles crown in the $15K challenger in Villa del Dique, Argentina, defeating Victoria Bosio in the final in front of the Argentine's home crowd. In April, Gleason won her first career ITF doubles crown with Kristie Ahn at the $80K Indian Harbour Beach event.



And the 2017 South American boomlet continued on the ITF circuit, as well. Colombia's Emiliana Arango took the title at the latest $15K challenger in Antalya, defeating Israel's Vlada Ekshibarova 6-2/6-3. It's the 16-year old's first pro title, and she's the eighth different player from the continent to win an ITF singles crown so far this season.




...LIKE ON DAY 8: Jordanne Whiley: Comedienne

I peaed on the floor ??

A post shared by Jordanne Whiley (@jordanne_joyce) on



...LIKE ON DAY 8: Even John McEnroe is weighing in.



And Diane, too...



...LIKE ON DAY 8: Kudos to the Elena B Foundation. All the ongoing tweets featuring photos and video of the late Baltacha sometimes almost makes it seem like she never left.



...LIKE ON DAY 8: Remembering the "crazy women's tennis tour," circa 2011...



...LIKE ON DAY 8: The thought that (maybe) Caroline ("Caro-leen") is now relishing the opportunitiy to play a big match on Chatrier. One hopes.



...I'VE GOT TO ADMIT ON DAY 8: That's some impressive hangtime...



...LIKE ON DAY 8: When Slo-Mo is worth it (look at the spin of the ball)...



...MEANWHILE, CHEERING COURAGEOUSLY FROM THE SIDELINES ON DAY 8: Il Duce... oh, wait...



Well, actually, I'll just stick with that.


...and, finally, how about Colt13's "RG Red Clay Challenge" list? Twelve potential champions have now been widdled down to four remaining in the final group of twelve still breathing in the draw...

Bertens
Halep
Kerber
Kuznetsova
Lucic-Baroni
Mladenovic
Muguruza
Pavlyuchenkova
Sevastova
Strycova
Suarez-Navarro
Svitolina

A Mladenovic (top half) vs. Halep/Svitolina/CSN (bottom half) final would secure a place in unlocking-the-RG-riddle history.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
Jelena Ostapenko/LAT def. #23 Samantha Stosur/AUS
#11 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #8 Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
#13 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA def. #4 Garbine Muguruza/ESP
#30 Timea Bacsinszky/SUI def. #10 Venus Williams/USA
#5 Elina Svitolina/UKR vs. (Q) Petra Martic/CRO
#21 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #3 Simona Halep/ROU
#28 Caroline Garcia/FRA vs. Alize Cornet/FRA
Veronica Cepede Royg/PAR vs. #2 Karolina Pliskova/CZE

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
x/x vs. Flipkens/Schiavone (BEL/ITA)
#3 Y.Chan/Hingis (TPE/SUI) vs. Olaru/Savchuk (ROU/UKR)
Begu/Sai.Zheng (ROU/CHN) vs. x/x
x/x vs. x/x

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
MJ.Martinez-Sanchez/Demoliner (ESP/BRA) vs. Groenefeld/Farah (GER/COL)
Hradecka/Matkowski (CZE/POL) vs. Dellacqua/Ram (AUS/USA)
Klepac/Inglot (SLO/GBR) vs. #3 Hlavackova/Roger-Vasselin (CZE/FRA)
#7 Dabrowski/Bopanna (CAN/IND) vs. #2 Mirza/Dodig (IND/CRO)





Vika isn't the only player making her comeback in Mallorca...












Alternative Anna?






*RG "IT" WINNERS*
2006 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2007 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2008 Dinara Safina, RUS
2009 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2010 Ons Jabeur, TUN (Jr.)
2011 Caroline Garcia, FRA
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2013 [post-Vergeer WC champ] Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
2014 [Spaniard] Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2015 [Swarmette] Andreea Mitu, ROU
2016 [Turk] Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR
2017 [Teen] Jelena Ostapenko, LAT

*RG "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING"*
[2006]
(3rd) Julia Vakulenko/UKR & Aravane Rezai/FRA
[2007]
(3rd) D.Cibulkova/SVK, A.Kudryavtseva/RUS & R.Olaru/ROU
[2008]
(QF) Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP
[2009]
(3rd) Michelle Larcher de Brito/POR & Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
[2010]
(4th) Chanelle Scheepers/RSA
[2011]
(3rd) Chan Yung-Jan/TPE & Nuria Llagostera-Vives/ESP
[2012]
(QF) Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
[2013]
(3rd) Paula Ormaechea/ARG & Dinah Pfizenmaier/GER
[2014]
(4th) Kiki Bertens/NED
[2015]
(2nd) L.Dominguez-Lino/ESP, P.Kania/POL, S.Karatantcheva/BUL & T.Pereira/BRA
[2016]
(2nd) C.Buyukakcay/TUR, V.Cepede Royg/PAR, L.Chirico/USA & V.Golubic/SUI
[2017]
Petra Martic/CRO (in 4th Rd.)

*2017 ITF TITLES - SOUTH AMERICANS"*
2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2 - Andrea Gamiz, VEN
1 - Emiliana Arango, COL
1 - Fernanda Brito, CHI
1 - Barbara Gatica, CHI
1 - Paula Cristina Goncalves, BRA
1 - Nathaly Kurata, BRA
1 - Catalina Pella, ARG
[100k Finals]
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (1-0)
1 - Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR (0-1)

*2017 MAJOR JUNIOR TITLE CHAMPIONS - G1/GA/SLAMS*
Coffee Bowl: Emily Appleton/GBR
Copa Barranquilla: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
Prague: Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS
Traralgon: Iga Swiatek/POL
Australian Open: Marta Kostyuk/UKR
Mundial: Amanda Meyer/USA
Asuncion Bowl: Whitney Osuigwe/USA
Banana Bowl: Whitney Osuigwe/USA
Porto Alegre: Amanda Anisimova/USA
Yeltsin Cup: Anastasia Kharitonova/RUS
Nonthaburi: Wang Xin Yu/CHN
Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup: Zeel Desai/IND
Int'l Spring Champ: Carson Branstine/CAN
Perin Memorial: Eva Guerrero/ESP
JCF: Olga Danilovic/SRB
Beaulieu-sur-Mer: Katerina Zavatska/UKR
Mediterranee Avenir MAR: Yasmine Mansouri/FRA
Santa Croce: Ylena In-Albon/SUI
Trofeo Bonfigilio: Elena Rybakina/RUS
Charleroi: Anhzelika Isaeva/RUS
--
=BY NATION=
4 - RUS
4 - USA
2 - UKR
1 - CAN
1 - CHN
1 - COL
1 - ESP
1 - FRA
1 - GBR
1 - IND
1 - POL
1 - SRB
1 - SUI

*MOST RECENT HOME NATION JUNIOR SLAM CHAMPS*
AO: Siobhan Drake-Brockman, 1995 (BOYS: Oliver Anderson, 2016)
RG: Kristina Mladenovic, 2009 (BOYS: Geoffrey Blancaneaux, 2016)
WI: Laura Robson, 2008 (BOYS: Stanley Matthews, 1962 = closed)
US: Kayla Day, 2016 (BOYS: Taylor Fritz, 2015)


And...


*2017 RG WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#3 - Karolina Pliskova
#4 - Simona Halep
#5 - Garbine Muguruza
#6 - Elina Svitolina
#9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
#11 - Venus Williams
#12 - Caroline Wozniacki
#14 - Kristina Mladenovic
#22 - Samantha Stosur
#23 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
#27 - Caroline Garcia
#31 - Timea Bacsinszky
#43 - Alize Cornet
#47 - Jelena Ostapenko
#97 - Veronica Cepede Royg
#290 - Petra Martic
[by age]
36...Venus Williams
33...Samantha Stosur
31...Svetlana Kuznetsova
28...Carla Suarez-Navarro
27...Timea Bacsinszky
27...Alize Cornet
26...Caroline Wozniacki
26...Petra Martic
25...Simona Halep
25...Veronica Cepede Royg
25...Karolina Pliskova
24...Kristina Mladenovic
23...Garbine Muguruza
23...Caroline Garcia
22...Elina Svitolina
19...Jelena Ostapenko
[by nation]
3...France (Cornet,Garcia,Mladenovic)
2...Spain (Muguruza,Suarez-Navarro)
1...Australia (Stosur)
1...Croatia (Martic)
1...Czech Republic (Ka.Pliskova)
1...Denmark (Wozniacki)
1...Latvia (Ostapenko)
1...Paraguay (Cepede Royg)
1...Romania (Halep)
1...Russia (Kuznetsova)
1...Switzerland (Bacsinszky)
1...Ukraine (Svitolina)
1...United States (V.Williams)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
48 - Venus Williams
31 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
18 - Caroline Wozniacki
12 - Samantha Stosur
12 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
10 - Simona Halep
8 - Garbine Muguruza
4 - Timea Bacsinszky
4 - Alize Cornet
3 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Petra Martic
2 - Kristina Mladenovic
1 - Veronica Cepede Royg
1 - Caroline Garcia
1 - Jelena Ostapenko
[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
5...Venus Williams
3...Karolina Pliskova
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova
2...Garbine Muguruza
[by career RG Round of 16's]
12...Svetlana Kuznetsova
10...Venus Williams
6...Samantha Stosur
5...Carla Suarez-Navarro
4...Garbine Muguruza
3...Timea Bacsinszky
3...Simona Halep
3...Elina Svitolina
2...Alize Cornet
2...Petra Martic
2...Caroline Wozniacki
1...Caroline Garcia
1...Kristina Mladenovic
1...Jelena Ostapenko
[w/ consecutive RG Round of 16's]
4...Garbine Muguruza
3...Timea Bacsinszky
3...Elina Svitolina
2...Simona Halep
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova
2...Samantha Stosur
2...Carla Suarez-Navarro
2...Venus Williams
[by preseason ""Grand Slam Master List" rankings]

=Tiers: Green 1-3, Blue 4-13, Pink 14-21, Orange 22-32,
Red 33-37, Purple 38-45, White 46-50, Missed List (5)=
3 - Karolina Pliskova
4 - Simona Halep
8 - Elina Svitolina
11 - Garbine Muguruza
12 - Venus Williams
16 - Caroline Wozniacki
18 - Timea Bacsinszky
19 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
20 - Caroline Garcia
21 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
30 - Kristina Mladenovic
x - none
40 - Jelena Ostapenko
45 - Samantha Stosur
---
Missed List - none
---
Unlisted - Veronica Cepede Royg
Unlisted - Alize Cornet
Unlisted - Petra Martic
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
55...Serena Williams
48...VENUS WILLIAMS
36...Maria Sharapova
31...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
26...Aga Radwanska
22...Victoria Azarenka
22...Jelena Jankovic
21...Patty Schnyder
18...Francesca Schiavone
18...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
15...Daniela Hantuchova
15...Petra Kvitova
14...Angelique Kerber
14...Ekaterina Makarova
12...SAMANTHA STOSUR
12...CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO
[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2010 - active]
23...Serena Williams
19...Maria Sharapova
18...Aga Radwanska
17...Victoria Azarenka
14...Angelique Kerber
14...Ekaterina Makarova
14...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
13...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
13...Petra Kvitova
13...VENUS WILLIAMS
10...SIMONA HALEP
10...Jelena Jankovic
10...SAMANTHA STOSUR
10...CARLA SUAREZ-NAVARRO
8...GARBINE MUGURUZA
8...Francesca Schiavone
8...Sloane Stephens
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - youngest]
19 - Jelena Ostapenko (RG)
21 - Jennifer Brady (AO)
22 - Dasha Gavrilova (AO)
22 - Elina Svitolina (RG)
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - oldest]
36...Venus Williams (RG)
36...Venus Williams (AO)
35...Serena Williams (AO)
34...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (AO)
33...Samantha Stosur (RG)
31...Svetlana Kuznetsova (RG)
31...Svetlana Kuznetsova (AO)
30...Barbora Strycova (AO)
29...Angelique Kerber (AO)
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - unseeded]
AO - Mona Barthel, GER (Q)
AO - Jennifer Brady, USA (Q)
AO - Sorana Cirstea, ROU
AO - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
AO - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
RG - Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
RG - Alize Cornet, FRA
RG - Petra Martic, CRO (Q)
RG - Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.'s]
AO - Mona Barthel, GER
AO - Jennifer Brady, USA
RG - Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
RG - Caroline Garcia, FRA
RG - Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - lowest-ranked]
#290 - Petra Martic, CRO (RG)
#181 - Mona Barthel, GER (AO)
#116 - Jennifer Brady, USA (AO)
#97 - Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR (RG)
#79 - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO (AO)
#78 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (AO)
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's]
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2...Garbine Muguruza, RUS
2...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2...Venus Williams, USA
[2017 slam Rd. of 16's - by nation]
5...USA (4/1)
4...RUS (3/1)
3...CZE (2/1)
3...ESP (1/2)
3...FRA (0/3)
2...AUS (1/1)
2...CRO (1/1)
2...ROU (1/1)
2...GER (2/0)
1...DEN (0/1)
1...GBR (1/0)
1...LAT (0/1)
1...PAR (0/1)
1...SUI (0/1)
1...UKR (0/1)


Whew! (again)



TOP QUALIFIER: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #23 Samantha Stosur/AUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Quirine Lemoine/NED def. Arantxa Rus/NED 2-6/7-6(3)/6-3 (down 6-2/5-3, saved 2 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #13 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA def. Jennifer Brady/USA 3-6/6-3/9-7 (back injury; down 3-0 in 3rd; on third attempt to serve out match)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Petra Kvitova/CZE (def. Boserup/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Roberta Vinci/ITA (1st Rd.-lost to Puig/PUR)
UPSET QUEENS: South Americans (Duque Marino/COL & Cepede Royg/PAR)
REVELATION LADIES: Muslim woman (LL Jabeur/TUN first Arab in 3rd Rd.; Buyukakcay/TUR 1st Rd. win for second straight year)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Germany (2-5 in 1st Round; Kerber first #1 out so early)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Petra Martic/CRO (in 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Chloe Paquet/FRA (2nd Rd.)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: In 4th Rd.: Cornet, Garcia, Mladenovic(W)
MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Wozniacki, Garcia, Cornet, Ka.Pliskova, Cepede Royg, Halep, Suarez-Navarro, Svitolina
IT "Teen": Jelena Ostapenko/LAT
COMEBACK PLAYER: Petra Kvitova/CZE
CRASH & BURN: #1 Angelique Kerber/GER (first #1-ranked woman to lost RG 1st Rd.; first at any slam since '01)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (1st Rd.- down 3-0 in 3rd to Brady, wins 9-7; 3rd Rd. - down 5-2 in 3rd, wins 8-6 vs. Rogers)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Nominee: Halep, Cornet, Mladenovic, Garcia, Jabeur, Ka.Pliskova
LA PETIT TAUREAU TROPHY: Elina Svitolina/UKR




Artist: Paul Thurlby


All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:47 PM 

6 Comments:

Blogger Colette Lewis said...

A few things. Kristina Schmiedlova will be 20 in August, so is 19 now. Kayla Day won the US Open juniors last year, so she should replace Samantha Crawford in junior slam winners from home country. And Geoffrey Blancaneaux won French Open boys title in 2006, so he should replace Monfils.

Mon Jun 05, 08:05:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Thanks, Colette. I must have just typo-ed Kristina's age and didn't catch it, since I specifically looked that up yesterday since I didn't remember it. :(

And, I guess I forgot to update that junior list last season (I know you meant "2016" for Blananeaux, so both those two changed within the last year). I *should* have remembered Day winning, though. Oh, that second week of a slam-itis. ;)

Mon Jun 05, 09:07:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Stat of the Day-8 Members of the South America Tennis Confederation that have reached the Round of 16 or better at a slam in the Open Era.

There are 10 members, but Bolivia and Chile have never had a member get that far.

This will be a double post for a couple of reasons. One is that I am glad that I went with R16 instead of QF, because it spotlights some countries that don't meet the standard. Also note that since the slams weren't all 128 until the mid 80's, some 3rd rd results are listed.

Argentina, mainly because of Sabatini, gets it's own post, but some minor other things. For the first year of the Open Era, the AO was kind of closed, as 47 of 64 participants were Aussies. That number got cut the next year, as the whole field got cut to 32.

Maria Bueno reached the QF at the French in 68, but no South American did it at the AO unitl Sabatini reached the SF in 89. In reverse, Suarez was the last at Wimbledon-04 QF.

One more note about Maria Bueno. The fact that she is only on this list in 68 and 76 doesn't mean she was slumping, she retired for 7 years and came back at 36.

Paraguay
Rossana de los Rios-4th 00 F
Veronica Cepede Royg-4th 17 F

Venezuela
Maria Alejandra Vento-4th 97 W
Maria Vento-Kabchi-4th 05 US

Uruguay
Fiorella Bonicelli-3rd 72 US
Fiorella Bonicelli-3rd 73 F
Fiorella Bonicelli-3rd 75 F
Fiorella Bonicelli-QF 78 F

Ecuador
Maria Guzman-3rd 69 F

Peru
Pilar Vasquez-3rd 81 F
Pilar Vasquez-4th 83 US
Laura Arraya-4th 84 F
Laura Gildemeister-4th 86 F
Laura Gildemeister-4th 90 F
Laura Gildemeister-QF 91 W

Colombia
Isabel Fernandez De Soto-3rd 73 F
Isabel Fernandez De Soto-3rd 76 F
Fabiola Zuluaga-SF 04 AO
Fabiola Zuluaga-4th 04 F

Brazil
Maria Bueno-QF 68 F
Maria Bueno-QF 68 W
Maria Bueno-SF 68 US
Maria Bueno-4th 76 W
Patricia Medrado-3rd 78 F
Patricia Medrado-3rd 79 F

Mon Jun 05, 10:24:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Part 2

More fun facts. Fabiola Zuluaga was Flavia Pennetta in Mexico(7 time finalist) in terms of Bogota. Of her 5 career titles, 4 were at Bogota.

Patricia Medrado of Brazil had a delayed sister watch. She reached the 3rd rd of the French in 1978 by beating Jeanne Evert, then lost in the 3rd rd in 1979 to Chris.

Now Argentina. Obviously the pride the Argentinians have in regards to Sabatini, the only South American slam winner in the Open Era, is up there with "Hand of God" Maradona in current folklore. So there is a Sabatini section, and then the rest-although looking back, I am surprised that I don't remember Suarez's singles results as well as I should.

Gabriela Sabatini
85-F SF
86-F 4TH,W SF,US 4TH
87-F SF,W QF,US QF
88-F SF,W 4TH,US F
89-AO SF,F 4TH,US SF
*90*-F 4TH,W SF,US WINNER
91-AO QF,F SF,W F,US QF
92-AO SF,F SF,W SF,US QF
93-AO SF,F QF,W QF,US QF
94-AO SF,W 4TH,US SF
95-F QF,W QF, US SF
96-AO 4TH

Argentina
Racquel Giscafre-3rd 69 F
Ana Maria Arias-3rd 70 F
Racquel Giscafre-SF 74 F
Elvira Weisenberger-3rd 74 F
Racquel Giscafre-4th 74 W
Racquel Giscafre-QF 75 F
Viviana Gonzalez-3rd 78 F
Ivanna Madruga-QF 80 F
Ivanna Madruga-QF 80 US
Ivanna Madruga-4th 82 F
Ivanna Madruga-4th 83 F
Ivanna Madruga-QF 83 US
Mercedes Paz-4th 86 F
Bettina Fulco-QF 88 F
Mercedes Paz-4th 90 F
Florencia Labat-4th 92 US
Maria Jose Gaidano-4th 93 US
Ines Gorrochategui-QF 94 F
Florencia Labat-4th 94 W
Ines Gorrochategui-4th 95 W
Florencia Labat-4th 97 US
Paola Suarez-4th 01 AO
Clarisa Fernandez-SF 02 F
Paola Suarez-QF 02 F
Paola Suarez-4th 03 W
Paola Suarez-QF 03 US
Paola Suarez-SF 04 F
Paola Suarez-QF 04 W
Gisela Dulko-4th 06 F
Gisela Dulko-4th 90 US
Gisela Dulko-4th 11 F

Mon Jun 05, 11:05:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ah, that's interesting!

P.S.- I'm afraid I might have to "swipe" all or part of that for use here at a later date, when applicable. ;)

Mon Jun 05, 04:01:00 PM EDT  
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