US 6.5 - Aryna's Appetite for Destruction

And on Night 6... a hungry Aryna Sabalenka prowled the night like a big cat searching for a meal.

New York is getting a first taste of Aryna this week and as usual, she’s leaving a lasting impression right away! pic.twitter.com/a7wtz0qQG8

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) September 2, 2018

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.

In her first main draw appearance here, @SabalenkaA defeats Kvitova 7-5, 6-1 to set up a R4 clash against Osaka!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/RIbE9gSEVO

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2018

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.

There’s nothing that can replace that winning feeling... @mariasharapova powers her way to the R16 defeating J. Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2. #USOpen ?? by @visualsbypierre __ #usopen50 #wta #girlboss #womenwhoinspire #mariasharapova #sharapova #NYC

A post shared by US Open (@usopen) on Sep 1, 2018 at 6:10pm PDT

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.

.@MariaSharapova & @JelenaOstapenk8 at the net in New York pic.twitter.com/r8JaP5oM7A

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) September 2, 2018

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:

Q: So Petra, the Grand Slam season is over…”

Kvitova: [clapping]#USOpen

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 2, 2018

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

New York City. Under the ??‘s!!! #USOpen Round 4!!! pic.twitter.com/njs2G55XSI

— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) September 2, 2018

=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.