AO.12 - The Day Before the Day

Let the countdown begin...

One. Last. Match. ??#AusOpen #SleepIsForTheWeak pic.twitter.com/SWPKDH4no2

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2019

(Hurry up... Petra is getting impatient.)

Waiting for the women's final like...#AusOpen #SleepIsForTheWeak pic.twitter.com/ElsrDASKdR

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2019

Naomi, I'm assuming, is good-to-go.



=DAY 12 NOTES=...well, we're almost to the point in a slam (yay!), as today comes with a cut-down schedule (yay!) and no women's singles match scheduled for in the night session (yay!).

Of course, it's still the Australian Open so even the action that's taking place doesn't start until 11 p.m on the U.S. east coast. so there's that.

Last night's final match sent another Aussie (well, two actually) into an AO doubles final. Now, Astra Sharma is a win away from a grand slam MX title. You can't accuse the former NCAA players of having bad timing by breaking out at this major right after their fellow collegian competitors were considered a near-afterthought by the ITF's Transition Tour, huh?

“Just speechless really. Can’t really believe the situation we’re in. Just to keep beating such high-quality opponents, I mean, coming into this I had zero expectations and now I’m just absolutely over the moon." - @astrasharma #AusOpenhttps://t.co/hy28FHjy5a

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 24, 2019

...meanwhile, the women's doubles champions were crowned on Day 12... and one is an Aussie.

Champions ????????@bambamsam30 / @zhangshuai121 def. defending champions Mladenovic / Babos 6-3 6-4 to win their first #AusOpen women's doubles title ?? pic.twitter.com/J3AraTkEYp

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2019

Yes, Samantha Stosur, for so long snakebit by her inability to be at her best on home soil, has picked up her first slam WD title since 2006 IN AUSTRALIA, of all places. She and Zhang Shuai had already defeated the #1-seeded team (Krejcikova/Siniakova) en route to the final, and on Friday they took down the defending champs, #2-seeded Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, 6-3/6-4. As it turned out, Stosur served out both the 1st and 2nd sets. Not that it was easy. She double-faulted three times before holding serve to take the 1st, then DF'd on MP in the 2nd... but she and Zhang won anyway, so everyone can chuckle about it.

"Oh, that's just Sam being Sam in Australia." "Oh, you mean she was winning?"

For Stosur, it's her seventh overall slam title (1s-3d-3m - one more step closer to Newport?), and her first pro title of any kind in Australia since a series of challenger wins in 2002 when she was a teenager. It's the first career slam win for Zhang, who famously averted retirement from the sport three years ago with her QF run as a qualifier.

??????@bambamsam30 @zhangshuai121#AusOpen #AOChampion pic.twitter.com/A3Fy6bWvrI

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2019

It was Stosur who convinced Zhang not to retire at the end of 2015. Now she’s won her 1st Slam title.

“Today is a dream come true for me.” - Zhang https://t.co/OmsnYBq396

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 25, 2019

Oh, and since one of my preseason picks for '19 included a WD slam title for Stosur (I figured it'd be with Zhang, most likely), I'm pretty sure it's already set to be highlighted as one of the better/favorite predictions from the Blowout.

...the girls singles final is set, as #1-seeded Clara Tauson defeated Ukraine's Daria Snigur to reach her first slam final. She'll try to join Caroline Wozniacki ('06 Wimbledon) as the only Danish girls to be crowned slam champs. She'll face #4 Leylah Annie Fernandez, who defeated Russian Anastasia Tikhonova, and *she'll* be trying to join Genie Bouchard ('12 Wimbledon) as the only Canadians to win a girls slam.

The girls doubles was won by Natsumi Kawaguchi (JPN) & Adrienn Nagy (HUN), who defeated the all-U.S. pair of Chloe Beck & Emma Navarro in the final.

Congrats to our Junior Girls' Doubles champions Natsumi Kawaguchi/Adrienn Nagy!

The third seeds def. Beck/Navarro 6-4 6-4 #AOChampion #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/bu390FS2YZ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2019

...the women's wheelchair doubles semis were also completed, with Diede de Groot's impressive slam record adding yet another final, as she and Aniek Van Koot (the #1 seeds) defeated Giulia Capocci & Yui Kamiji in straight sets. They'll face #2 seeded Marjolein Buis & Sabine Ellerbrock, who won an entertaining 10-7 deciding TB over Kgothatso Montjane/Lucy Shuker.

Buis is defending her AO doubles title from last year, and has won the crown two of the last three years with Kamiji as her partner.

The AO doubles is one of the two slam titles (w/ Roland Garros singles) that de Groot has not yet won.

Some slam wheelchair competition notes:

* - the AO final will make it de Groot vs. Kamiji in five of last six singles finals (2-2)

* - de Groot is in her seventh straight slam singles final (4-2)

* - de Groot has reached both the s/d finals of the last seven slams (starting with the '17 Wimbledon)

* - de Groot has reached 15 slam s/d finals in 18 career slam s/d main draws (w/ 8 pre-AO final titles)

* - if de Groot sweeps the AO s/d titles she'll be the reigning champion in seven of the eight slam competitions, slighting besting (by percentage points) Kamiji's 6-of-7 moment at the end of 2014, the most dominant year-long stretch by any player in the post-Vergeer era.

* - de Groot needs the AO doubles and RG singles to have claimed all eight slam crowns in her career. She's also won the Masters singles and doubles. She's yet to win Paralympic Gold, though. Kamiji needs the Wimbledon singles to have won all eight slam crowns. (Whichever one of the two does it first will be the first ever.) Kamiji, too, has won the Masters s/d, but no Paralympic Gold. As of now, Esther Vergeer (who played before there was a Wimbledon singles competition) is tied with Kamiji with the most different slam titles won (7), a mark de Groot will match with an AO doubles win. She, of course, won both Masters titles and SEVEN Paralympic (4/3) Golds.


...remember the possible Bouchard/Andreescu all-Canada QF? Yeah, well, it'll happen in Newport Beach. #3-seeded Bouchard defeated Jil Teichmann, while #6 Andreescu took out Marie Bouzkova, setting up the first meeting between the two top-ranked players representing the maple leaf.

This is overwhelming. But we love it.

Bianca and Genie play their first pro match against each other tomorrow in Newport Beach! #ClashofCanadians https://t.co/Iuf2XgpkJX

— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) January 24, 2019

Bouchard comes in at #79, while Andreescu is #106.




...JUST BECAUSE IT'S DAY 12:

pic.twitter.com/zXyV11fIqN

— Round Animals (@round_boys) January 24, 2019

...LIKE ON DAY 12: I pulled this out for the "And finally..." section at last year's U.S. Open after seeing the full version of this for the first time. It's never a bad idea to bring it out again, so...

Random, but a dear colleague told me today that she has never seen Queen’s iconic Live Aid performance.

So If you haven’t seen it either (or just know the quite terrible re-enactment in Bohemian Rhapsody..), here you go. Thank me later.https://t.co/RvmSojS9gW

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) January 24, 2019

...LIKE ON DAY 12: Sloane, bar none...

I do my own stunts ?? pic.twitter.com/f0hfuYHA8Z

— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) January 24, 2019

...Hmmm... ON DAY 12:

View this post on Instagram

What was coach saying to me here most creative answer gets a prize

A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) on Jan 23, 2019 at 3:03pm PST

How about, "Who do you think you are, Maria Sharapova?"

...Ummm... ON DAY 12: Not sure how Mary Carillo got it into her head that Zhang Shuai is 25, rather that 30, but she must have called her Stosur's "25-year old partner" about 25 million times on Tennis Channel during the doubles final. And why didn't co-commentator Lindsay Davenport, who was recently coaching on tour and surely *knows* Zhang isn't 25, find some way to politely slip it in that she's actually a little older than that? I mean, Zhang *did* make an AO splash a few years ago with a QF run in singles that led to put to bed the thought of retiring from the sport, and both know she wasn't 21 or 22 when that happened. Just sayin'.



The final 2010-19 Australian Open numbers are almost all in, which means the next phase of the Decade's Best marathon is just about here. This weekend, some actions of note:

1) additions will be made to the Players of the Decade nominations list (long form), as well as any necessary promotions up the nomination list (it'll make sense when I do it)

2) the nomination list's first cut (it's the deepest, they say)

3) the final 2010-19 Top 10 for the Australian Open will be set, along with the mentions of few other high points from the last ten years Down Under

First up, though, the final AO recaps for 2017 and 2018.

2017...


==NEWS & NOTES==Serena Williams, secretly two months pregnant with daughter Olympia, wins her seventh AO singles crown without dropping a set, winning her 23rd career slam to surpass Steffi Graf for the most Open era major titles. At 35 years, 125 days Williams is the oldest women's single champ of the Open era.


The final was an all-Williams affair, as Serena faced off with sister Venus for the ninth time in a major final (Serena 7-2), but the first since the 2009 Wimbledon. The match -- #28 in their series -- came nineteen years after their first pro meeting in the 2nd Round in Melbourne in 1998. At 36, Venus is the oldest slam finalist since at 37-year old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994. Venus would go to reach the Wimbledon final later in 2017.
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34-year old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, eighteen years after she reached her first slam semi at Wimbledon at age 16, reaches her second.

Lucic's journey back was a long and difficult one, as soon after her SW19 breakthrough she lost more than six years of her career after making a daring escape from a familial circumstance marked by mental and physical abuse.


With her career moments separated by a lifetime, both in tennis' generational terms as well as in regards to the maelstrom of her own personal experience, Lucic went down to her knees in the middle of Rod Laver Arena court after her biggest victory in nearly two decades, making the sign of the cross over her heart, then burying her face in her hands and bursting into tears. After coming back from a set down to defeat Wang Qiang in the 1st Round (her first AO win since '98), the Croat's storybook run included wins over two Top 5 players, #3 Aga Radwanska in the 2nd Round and #5 Karolina Pliskova in the QF.
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The semifinals were the oldest of the Open era, with 35-year old Serena and 36-year old Venus (who combined for the oldest Open era final) joined by 34-year old Lucic-Baroni. 25-year old CoCo Vandeweghe rounded out the field to make it three Bannerettes strong. (But that'd be nothing compared to the all-U.S. U.S. Open semis later that year featuring Venus, CoCo, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, the first of its kind since the '85 Wimbledon.)

For her part, Vandeweghe, who made it four straight Australian Opens with a North American first-time slam semifinalist, defeated the world #1 and defending AO champ (Kerber), three of 2016's major title holders (AO/US champ Kerber, RG winner Muguruza) AND two former slam finalists (Bouchard and Vinci).
===============================================
#4 Simona Halep, suffering from tendinitis in her knee, fell to Shelby Rogers in the 1st Round, her second straight one-and-done trip to Melbourne. A year later, she'd save match points in two matches en route to the final.
===============================================
Angelique Kerber, the defending champ and reigning #1, falls to Vandeweghe in the Round of 16, kicking off a campaign in which she'd follow up her career year of '16 with one in '17 in which she'd go title-less and fall out of the Top 20, the biggest non-injury/retirement related ranking slip for a season-ending #1 in tour history. She'd rebound a season later to win career slam #3 and finish at #2.
===============================================
"The Dasha Show" gets a *another* season, as Gavrilova makes her second consecutive Round of 16 run. In her next two AO appearances in 2018-19, the Aussie goes a combined 1-2 in the AO.

===============================================
The 2017 Australian Open was almost as notable for which players WEREN'T there as it was for those who were. Among the absentees: Maria Sharapova (suspended), Sloane Stephens (foot surgery), Madison Keys (wrist), Victoria Azarenka (new mother) and Petra Kvitova (recovering from hand surgery after home invasion attack).
===============================================
After winning the AO doubles in their first event together in 2015, Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova didn't get a chance to defend the title in '16 due to the Czech's illness. In 2017, though, they were able to finally play together again in Melbourne. Yet again, they won.


The win, coming weeks after Mattek-Sands had risen to the doubles #1 ranking, was the duo's second straight at a major. They'd win their third straight (5th overall) in the spring at Roland Garros. They went to Wimbledon looking for a Career Doubles Slam *and* non-calendar year Grand Slam. Their dream run was ended by Mattek-Sands' Wimbledon knee injury while playing singles. With BMS recovering, Safarova would replace her as doubles #1 in the summer, and "Team Bucie" wouldn't be able to defend their title in '18. In 2019, they were scheduled to play in Melbourne in what was to be the swan song for the retiring Safarova. But Safarova had to skip the event due to injury, and will likely end her career at another '19 event. As things turned out, Mattek-Sands/Safarova never lost at the AO, going 11-0 in their two events together while seeing injury/illness prevent them from teaming up there on three different occasions.

In singles, Safarova saved nine MP vs. Yanina Wickmayer in the 1st Round...

Video of Lucie Safarova saving nine MPs against Yanina Wickmayer.https://t.co/tj6SPEMyno

— Steven Mills (@StevenMtennis) January 17, 2017

2016 champs Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza became the latest duo to not attempt to defend their AO title, having broken up late in the previous season. Hingis teamed with Vandeweghe, losing in the 2nd Round, while Mirza (w/ Barbora Strycova) fell in the 3rd. Soon after, Hingis joined forces with Latisha Chan, winning nine titles, including the U.S. Open, in '17 before retiring for the final time at the end of the season.
===============================================
At age 35, after a career that had included eighteen WD titles, a tour-level singles final (in 2004) and two previous MX finals (2013-14 U.S. Open w/ Santiago Gonzalez), Abigail Spears won her maiden slam crown, teaming with Juan Sebastian Cabal to defeat the team of Sania Mirza/Ivan Dodig in the AO Mixed Doubles final.
===============================================
16-year old Aussie wild card Destanee Aiava is the first player born in the 2000's to play a match in a slam MD. She's also the first of Samoan descent.
===============================================
Japan's Yui Kamiji, playing in her third AO wheelchair singles final in four years, wins her first singles title in Melbourne, defeating two-time defending champ Jiske Griffioen in the final. The win brings Kamiji a Wimbledon singles title away from becoming the first player to win all eight slam titles in a career. As 2019 begins, Kamiji still needs that title...and she may just get beaten to the prize.


The player who could beat Kamiji to the eight-for-eight record is Diede de Groot. The 20-year old made her slam debut at the 2017 Australian Open, losing to Sabine Ellerbrock in her opening singles match, while advancing to the doubles final (w/ Kamiji) and falling to Griffioen & Aniek Van Koot. A protege of the great Esther Vergeer, de Groot has since gone on to dominate the sport, with Kamiji continuing to be her chief rival. Griffioen would retire by the end of 2017.
===============================================
In the 3rd Round, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Jelena Jankovic in a three-set, 3:36 thriller. Kuznetsova failed to put away the match after leading 6-4/4-1, but made up for it by coming back from 3-0 down in the 3rd to win 6-4/5-7/9-7.
===============================================
14-year old Marta Kostyuk wins the girls singles, joining Elina Svitolina and Kateryna Bondarenko as junior slam champions hailing from Ukraine. The #11 seed, she defeated #1 Rebeka Masarova (then SUI, now ESP) in the final. A year later, Kostyuk would qualify for the women's MD and reach the 3rd Round at age 15.


Bianca Andreescu & Carson Branstine team to take the girls doubles, defeating Poles Maja Chwalinksa & Iga Swiatek in the final. Canadian Andreescu also reached the singles semis, and served for the match vs. Masarova in the 2nd set. After she failed to close things out, and the match went to a 3rd, she was slowed by a leg injury and bageled in the final set. Just a few hours later, she managed to come back out and win the doubles final.

Branstine, playing for the U.S. at the time, would switch to representing CAN soon afterward. The pair would win the girls doubles at Roland Garros a few months later, then reach a tour-level WD final in Quebec City in September. In 2018, they teamed to win a $25K challenger title. In 2019, Andreescu qualified for the MD and notched her first career slam victory.
===============================================


==QUOTES==
* - “Clearly these matches are challenging, physically, mentally, all of that. It’s a challenge. But I’m up for the challenge. If I’m here, that’s why I’m here. I’m not just here to hang out halfway around the world. This is a long way to come for a hangout session.” - Venus Williams, after defeating CoCo Vandeweghe to reach her first slam final in eight and a half years

* - “I still feel I have something to prove to myself, to be better. To enjoy the game in a way that it hurts." - Barbora Strycova

* - “I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line. In that moment there is no do-over, there’s no retake, there is no voice-over. It’s triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can’t fake it. You can’t. It’s either you do it or you don’t. People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn't win because we all have those moments in our life." - Venus Williams

* - “This has made my life, everything that happened that was bad it's made it all okay." - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, on her unexpected 18-years-and-more-in-the-making second career slam semifinal run

* - “That's my little sister, guys. (To Serena) Your win has always been my win. I think you know that." - Venus Williams, addressing the crowd and Serena, after losing to her sister in the final

* - “I kind of want to be known as an amazing fighter, a person who persevered against everything, against all odds." ... "I never could dream about being here again. I will never forget this day." " - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

* - “23...24...25. It's never enough." - 23-time slam champ Serena Williams, noting that even during the trophy presentation, Margaret Court's all-time major total of 24 titles was already being mentioned


2018...

==NEWS & NOTES==Caroline Wozniacki, after a Hall of Fame-worthy career burdened by what she had *not* done, finally wins her maiden slam crown, becoming the first Danish major champ and returning to #1 after a tour record six-year absence.


Of course, her big moment came only after she'd climbed out of 5-1, 40/15 3rd set hole vs. Jana Fett in the 2nd Round, saving two MP vs. the Croat, who was playing in just her second career MD slam match.
===============================================
While the '18 AO will be known as the site of Caro's first major win, world #1 Simona Halep nearly stole the show. The Romanian badly turned her ankle in her 1st Round match, and carried that injury and impending exhaustion (she was hospitalized for just that after the tournament) all the way to the finish in true warrioress fashion.


Halep saved triple MP in a 3:44 3rd Round match vs. Lauren Davis, winning a 15-13, 2:22 3rd set in a match that tied the AO women's record for total games (48 - 1996 Sanchez Vicario/Rubin) and was the third longest AO women's match ever. In the semifinals, she saved two more MP vs. Angelique Kerber in the Match of the Year. Halep ultimately finished as runner-up to Wozniacki, falling in a 2:49 finale that finished off a two-week run that set the tone for her entire season, a dream year that included her maiden slam title run at Roland Garros and her second straight #1 season.
===============================================
2017 didn't mean much in 2018.

Singles champ Serena Williams was absent, having once again had a health scare after experiencing blood clot issues following the birth of her daughter in September '17. The player she defeated in the previous AO final, her sister Venus, lost in the 1st Round to Belinda Bencic. '17 semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe lost in the 1st Round to Timea Babos, while the storybook final four member from twelve months earlier, Mirjana Lucic-Barnoni fell in the 2nd Round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Then 35-year old Lucic, while not having officially retired, has not played a match since.

The carnage hit the semifinalists from the previous slam -- the U.S. Open -- just as hard. Three-quarters of the all-Bannerette final four -- Venus, CoCo and Sloane Stephens (who fell to 0-8 since winning the U.S. Open in September) -- all lost on Day 1 of the '18 AO. Only Madison Keys survived, reaching the QF.

Venus would lose in the 1st Round at Roland Garros a few months later, giving her her first back-to-back opening match exits in a slam career that stretches back to 1997.
===============================================
Angelique Kerber, the '16 champ and former #1, survived (barely) a Round of 16 clash with Hsieh Su-wei. She was pressed to the brink, frustrated and shaking her head as she tried to figure out how to attack the Taiwanese veteran's varied series of drop shots, slip-sliding forehand slices, hooks, flat change-of-direction winners down the line, angled brain-twisters, curling hand-cuffers, and, of course, her more "normal" corner-to-corner groundstrokes that served to leave Kerber perpetually out of position for most of two full sets. Hsieh's great shot anticipation never appeared to force her to have to actually chase balls down, as she was always there waiting, with every option and shot within arm's reach. The tactics bewitched, bothered and bewildered Kerber almost to the point of defeat. Almost. Finally, once Hsieh had used up what remained of her physical reserves and was no longer able to twist the former #1 into a soft pretzel, Kerber took control and won in three. She then advanced to the semis, and held 2 MP vs. Halep for a berth in the final.

Kerber would go on to win Wimbledon and finish at #2 behind Halep (and just ahead of Wozniacki) in 2018.
===============================================
Belgian Elise Mertens makes it SIX straight Australian Opens with a first-time slam semifinalist.
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15-year old Marta Kostyuk, the' 17 AO girls champ, is the youngest AO qualifier since 2005 (Sesil Karatantcheva), making her the youngest in the MD since 1996 (Martina Hingis), and first ever in a slam who was born in 2002. In the 1st Round, the Ukrainian upset #25 seed Peng Shuai, and went on to reach the 3rd Round, making her the youngest to go so far in any major since Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the 1997 U.S. Open. She ultimately went out at the hands of countrywoman Elina Svitolina.

Question: What did you take from that experience today?@marta_kostyuk: Well, a lot. How much you have to pay Svitolina to have one-hour lesson, so I got it for free.#AusOpen?????? pic.twitter.com/9OjX4YnznU

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2018

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Missing from the tournament along with Serena was Victoria Azarenka, for a second straight year. After being absent due to recently having a baby a year earlier, the two-time AO champ missed '17 because of travel restrictions due to a custody battle over son Leo. Azarenka had eight straight seasons of Round of 16-or-better results in Melbourne from 2009-16. She finally returned Down Under in 2019, losing in the 1st Round to Laura Siegemund after holding a 7-6/4-2 lead. Afterward, she tearfully spoke of how hard she has worked to make a comeback (both on and off court), only to be having a difficult time getting the sort of results from her tennis that she desires.
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Aga Radwanska played her final AO in 2017, losing in the 3rd Round to Hsieh Su-wei. The Pole had six straight Round of 16 results from 2011-16, reaching two semifinals in Melbourne. She retired after the '18 season.

Francesca Schiavone played her final AO, as well. She'd make her final slam appearance at Roland Garros, the site of her lone slam win in 2010, and then made a trip to New York during the '18 U.S. Open to make her retirement official.

Meanwhile, the event marked Petra Kvitova's AO return following her harrowing December '16 home invasion attack and career-saving hand surgery. She lost in the 1st Round in a 10-8 3rd set vs. Andrea Petkovic. The '18 event was also the first in Melbourne for Maria Sharapova since her return from suspension. She knocked off #14 seed Anastasija Sevastova in the 2nd Round, losing to Angelique Kerber a round later. In 2019, Sharapova would record an AO win over defending champ Caroline Wozniacki.
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Bernarda Pera upset Johanna Konta in the 2nd Round, becoming the first lucky loser to reach the AO 3rd Round since 1997.
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Once again, the reigning women's doubles champions were unable to attempt to defend their crown, as Mattek-Sands was out due to a knee injury. Lucie Safarova teamed with fellow Czech Barbora Strycova instead, reaching the QF.

The doubles title was claimed by Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic. Their win in the final over Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina (also AO finalists in '14) denied the Russians the chance to complete a Career Slam/Golden Slam/Super Slam (all four majors, the WTAF and Olympic Gold). They'd have become the only women's duo in tour history to complete the full set.

Babos was the first Hungarian slam winner since Andrea Temesvari in 1986, and she nearly picked up TWO in Melbourne, also reaching the MX final with Rohan Bopanna. The duo lost to Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic. Dabrowski had previously won a MX crown a Roland Garros in '17 while partnering Bopanna.

Babos & Mladenovic would win the '17 U.S. Open title, as well, and then reach the '19 AO WD final.
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Taiwan's Liang En-shuo sweeps the girls singles and doubles, becoming the first from her nation to win a junior singles slam. Liang saved a MP in the 1st Round (vs. Olivia Gadecki) and two more in the SF (vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto).


Liang's opponent in the final was Pastry Clara Burel, who'd go on to also finish as the runner-up at the season's Youth Olympics and U.S. Open. She won the season-ending Junior Masters, though, and finished the season at #1.

Liang picked up the doubles crown with Wang Xinyu. Xinyu would later team with Wang Xiyu at Wimbledon to become the first all-Chinese duo to win a girls doubles slam.
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Diede de Groot wins her first AO wheelchair singles crown (career slam #2), defeating Yui Kamiji in the final. Kamiji was playing in her fourth AO final in five years, and fell to 1-3 in those matches.

The Japanese star, still ranked #1 ahead of #2 de Groot at the time, would still claim her fourth AO doubles crown, teaming with Marjolein Buis to defeat de Groot & Aniek Van Koot in the final. It's Buis/Kamiji's second AO title in three years.
===============================================


==QUOTES==
* - "Last year is last year." - 2017 finalist Venus Williams, after losing in the 1st Round a year ago

* - "I'm almost dead." - Simona Halep, after surviving her 3:44, 3 MP saving 3rd Round marathon vs. Lauren Davis

* - "Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na!" - Romanian fans cheering on national heroine Halep

"I'm just taking a second to hug 'Daphne' - I've dreamt of this moment for so many years, to be here is a dream come true."

Your #AusOpen 2018 Champion, @CaroWozniacki! ?? pic.twitter.com/iFfSmlVCPA

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2018

=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#4 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. #8 Petra Kvitova/CZE

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN) def. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) 6-3/6-4

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
#3 Krejcikova/Ram (CZE/USA) vs. (WC) Sharma/JP.Smith (AUS/AUS)

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Clara Tauson/DEN vs. #4 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#3 Kawaguchi/Nagy (JPN/HUN) def. #8 Beck/Navarro (USA/USA) 6-4/6-4

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

=WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. #2 Buis/Ellerbrock (NED/GER)

To make you feel old, this year is the 10-year anniversary of this video pic.twitter.com/NIlnpXCaNy

— jon (@delJontro) January 23, 2019

Ya estamos en Tailandia! ????#TailandOpenHuaHin @WTA pic.twitter.com/ylGa9C8BWA

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) January 24, 2019

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We woke up like this ??

A post shared by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on Jan 23, 2019 at 6:57pm PST

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@australianopen 2019 ?? ??Appreciate all the support for the past month??

A post shared by Elina Svitolina???? (@elisvitolina) on Jan 23, 2019 at 1:13am PST

Only 19 days ago. Give it up for the queen of bouncing back. https://t.co/lQXTkegB8N

— Jason (@Hurleytennis) January 24, 2019

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Some leave Australia with a stuffed baby ??, others choose an ??. You’re a very fun city, Melbourne. Loved competing in front you. Thank you @australianopen for raising your standards every year! Loved discovering new, quaint little areas and ??-bars with very delicious tapas.( you have to try Tipo 00, Marion, and Carlton Wine Room. SO good!! ) Minus the sun pigmentation I leave with every year (ughhhh ??) , I’ll miss you ????! xx??

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Jan 23, 2019 at 3:44am PST

*AO WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2009*
2009 Serena Williams / Venus Williams, USA/USA
2010 Serena Williams / Venus Williams, USA/USA
2011 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA
2012 Svetlana Kuznetsova / Vera Zvonareva, RUS/RUS
2013 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2014 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2019 Samantha Stosur / Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS DOUBLES CHAMPS - since 2010*
2010 Jana Cepelova / Chantal Skamlova, SVK/SVK
2011 An-Sophie Mestach / Demi Schuurs, BEL/NED
2012 Gabby Andrews / Taylor Townsend, USA/USA
2013 Ana Konjuh / Carol Zhao, CRO/CAN
2014 Anhelina Kalinina / Elizaveta Kulichkova, UKR/RUS
2015 Miriam Kolodziejova / Marketa Vondrousova, CZE/CZE
2016 Anna Kalinskaya / Tereza Mihalikova, RUS/SVK
2017 Bianca Andreescu / Carson Branstine, CAN/USA
2018 Liang En-shou / Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN
2019 Natsumi Kawaguchi / Adrienn Nagy, JPN/HUN

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
39 - Serena Williams, USA (23-14-2)
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
8 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-3)
7 - SAMANTHA STOSUR, AUS (1-3-3)
6 - Sania Mirza, IND (0-3-3)
6 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (0-1-5)
5 - Sara Errani, ITA (0-5-0)
5 - Maria Sharapova, RUS (5-0-0)

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Serena Williams, USA
14...Venus Williams, USA
5...Sara Errani, ITA
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
3...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...SAMANTHA STOSUR, AUS
3...Elena Vesnina, RUS

*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
--
FINAL: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE vs. Astra Sharma/AUS

*CAREER DOUBLES TITLES - active*
41 - Sania Mirza, IND
39 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
32 - Kveta Peschke, CZE
30 - Latisha Chan, TPE
27 - Andrea S.-Hlavackova, CZE
27 - Sara Errani, ITA
26 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
26 - SAMANTHA STOSUR, AUS
23 - Barbora Strycova, CZE
23 - Serena Williams, USA

*AO "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
2006 Yan Zi & Zheng Jie, CHN/CHN
2007 Liezel Huber, USA
2008 Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR/UKR
2009 Sania Mirza, IND
2010 Cara Black, ZIM
2011 Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA
2012 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2013 Jarmila Gajdosova, AUS
2014 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2017 Abigail Spears, USA
2018 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2019 Astra Sharma, AUS

*AO "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
2007 Madison Brengle, USA
2008 Jessica Moore, AUS & Arantxa Rus, NED
2009 Ksenia Pervak, RUS
2010 Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova, CZE/CZE
2011 Japanese girls
2012 Taylor Townsend, USA
2013 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2014 Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
2015 Tereza Mihalikova, SVK
2016 Sara Tomic, AUS
2017 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2018 Liang En-shuo, TPE
2019 Clara Tauson/DEN & Anastasia Tikhonova/RUS

*DANES IN GIRLS SINGLES SLAM FINALS*
2006 AO - Caroline Wozniacki (lost to Pavlyuchenkova)
2006 WI - Caroline Wozniacki (def. Magdalena Rybarikova)
2019 AO - Clara Tauson (vs. Leylah Annie Fernandez)

*DE GROOT AT THE SLAMS*
[singles, 2017-19]
QF-QF-W-RU...W-RU-W-W...?
[doubles, 2017-19]
RU-SF-RU-W...RU-W-W-W...?

*WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - since 2013, post-Vergeer*
12 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN (6-5)
8 - Aniek Van Koot, NED (2-6)
7 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (4-2)
6 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4-2)-ret.
6 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER (2-5)
1 - Marjolein Buis, NED (1-0)
1 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (1-0)

*ALL-TIME WHEELCHAIR SLAM SINGLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US]
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [9-6-0-6]
6 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [1-3-0-2]*
4 - Diede de Groot, NED [1-0-2-1]*
4 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [2-1-1-0]
3 - Monique Kalkman, NED [0-0-0-3]
2 - Daniela Di Toro, AUS [0-0-0-2]
2 - Sabine Ellerbrock, GER [1-1-0-0]*
2 - Maaike Smit, NED [0-0-0-2]
2 - Chantal Vandierendonck, NED [0-0-0-2]
2 - Aniek van Koot, NED [1-0-0-1]*

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM DOUBLES TITLES*
[AO-RG-WI-US]
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [7-5-3-6]
14 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [5-3-2-4]
14 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [4-3-5-2]*
11 - Aniek van Koot, NED [3-4-2-2]*
9 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [2-2-4-1]*
7 - Sharon Walraven, NED [2-1-2-2]
5 - Korie Homan, NED [1-1-1-2]
5 - Marjolein Buis, NED [2-2-0-1]*
4 - Diede de Groot, NED [0-1-1-2]*

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM TITLES*
[singles/doubles]
42 - Esther Vergeer, NED (21/21)
20 - Yui Kamiji, JPN (6/14)*
18 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4/14)
13 - Aniek Van Koot, NED (2/11)*
10 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (1/9)*
8 - Diede de Groot, NED (4/4)*

*AO WC SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
2002 Esther Vergeer/NED
2003 Esther Vergeer/NED
2004 Esther Vergeer/NED
2005 Mie Yaosa/JPN
2006 Esther Vergeer/NED
2007 Esther Vergeer/NED
2008 Esther Vergeer/NED
2009 Esther Vergeer/NED
2010 Korie Homan/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer/NED
2012 Esther Vergeer/NED
2013 Aniek Van Koot/NED
2014 Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
2015 Jiske Griffioen/NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen/NED
2017 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2018 Diede de Groot/NED
2019 ?

*AO WC DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
2004 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2005 Florence Gravellier/Maaike Smit (FRA/NED)
2006 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2007 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2010 Florence Gravellier/Aniek van Koot (FRA/NED)
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2012 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2013 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2015 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2016 Marjolein Buis/Yui Kamiji (NED/JPN)
2017 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2018 Marjolein Buis/Yui Kamiji (NED/JPN)
2019 ?

*SERENA, VENUS, MARIA & VIKA IS SAME SLAM DRAW*
=CHAMPIONS=
=2006=
AO - MAURESMO (1)
=2007=
RG - HENIN
WI - V.Williams
US - HENIN (2)
=2008=
AO - Sharapova
RG - IVANOVIC (1)
WI - V.Williams (2)
=2009=
RG - KUZNETSOVA (1)
WI - S.Williams
US - CLIJSTERS (1)
=2010=
AO - S.Williams
RG - SCHIAVONE (1)
WI - S.Williams
=2011=
WI - KVITOVA
US - STOSUR (1)
=2012=
RG - Sharapova (2)
WI - S.Williams
US - S.Williams
=2013=
AO - Azarenka (1)
RG - S.Williams
=2014=
AO - LI (1)
WI - KVITOVA (2)
=2015=
AO - S.Williams
RG - S.Williams
WI - S.Williams (9)
=2016=
AO - KERBER
=2017=
-
=2018=
RG - HALEP (1)
WI - KERBER (2)
US - OSAKA (1)
=2019=
AO - Kvitova or Osaka
==
-30 slams = titles-
9 - Serena Williams
2 - Henin,Kerber,Kvitova,Sharapova,V.Williams
1 - 10 players (Osaka)




TOP QUALIFIER: Astra Sharma/AUS
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #16 Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #8 Petra Kvitova/CZE
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - Astra Sharma/AUS def. #25 Irina Khromacheva 5-7/7-6(7)/7-6(10) (saved 3 MP, makes slam debut)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #18 Garbine Muguruza/ESP def. Johanna Konta/GBR 6-4/6-7(3)/7-5 (ended at 3:12 a.m.)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #16 Serena Williams/USA def. #1 Simona Halep 6-1/4-6/6-4
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Rebecca Peterson/SWE (def. Cirstea/ROU)
FIRST SEED OUT: #14 Julia Goerges/GER (1st Rd. - lost to D.Collins/USA)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Teens - six teenagers win 1st Round matches - Andreescu/Anisimova/Potapova/Swiatek/Vondrousova/Yastremska; Anisimova and Yastremska reach 3rd Rd.
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Romania - 2-4 1st Rd., losses to two teens, #25 seed
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA, Astra Sharma/AUS, Iga Swiatek/POL, Natalia Vikhlyantseva/RUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Kimberly Birrell/AUS (3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (QF)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Danielle Collins/USA
IT (Teen): Amanda Anisimova/USA (first player born in 2000s to reach slam 4th Rd.)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Petra Kvitova/CZE
CRASH & BURN: #10 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS (after leading 3-0 in 1st set, loses 12 con. games in 1st Rd. loss vs. Bacsinszky)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (QF - down 5-1 and MP in 3rd set vs. S.Williams, Williams injures foot; saves 4 MP)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Garbine Muguruza/ESP (3:12 a.m. finish; def. Johanna Konta in 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR: Astra Sharma/AUS
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Clara Tauson/DEN (first slam final) and Anastasia Tikhonova/RUS (first slam SF)





All for Day 12. More tomorrow.