Thursday, January 17, 2019

AO.4 - The Simona Experience

Sonya Kenin is new to all this, but Simona Halep has been here before. It's a good thing for the Romanian, too, since on Day 4 she was just forced to play her "warrior card" yet again in the early stages of another Australian Open.



In the last day session match on Laver on Thursday, starting late because of a rain stoppage in the afternoon, world #1 Halep took on up-and-coming Sonya Kenin in a battle of a player who last season finally found her promised land against another who is just beginning to find her way.

The 20-year Bannerette is "getting there," though, gradually. She's already been featured on big slam stages on multiple occasions, playing night matches at the U.S. Open the last two years, first against her idol Maria Sharapova on Ashe in '17, then former #1 and Open finalist Karolina Pliskova last year on Armstrong. The then-teenager was initially nervous but game, and never lost her head. Her second big stage experience proved to be more competitive that her first, as well. So much so that U.S. Fed Cup Captain Kathy Rinaldi, in the stands for the match, called upon Kenin to play a big role in the U.S. FC final effort in Prague last fall. Though she went 0-2 vs. higher ranked Czechs, Kenin showed heart, guts and star potential. With a 3rd Round U.S. Open result and two Top 10 wins under her belt, Kenin finished the year in the Top 50, then won her first career tour doubles title in Auckland in Week 1, and her first singles crown last weekend in Hobart. Two months past her 20th birthday, she came to Melbourne as the youngest player in the Top 50 at #35.

Halep jumped out early, breaking Kenin in the opening game. But Kenin got her feet under her soon afterward. Still down a break, she managed back-to-back love holds while down 4-3. Even at 5-3 down, Kenin was even at 19-19 in total points. But at 5-3, two forehand errors immediately put Kenin down love/30, then a third had Halep at double SP. An errant backhand two points later handed the Romanian the set.

In the 2nd, as had been the case so often on Day 4, one player's greater experience shined the brightest. For a while.

Dropping just one point in her first two service games surrounding a break of Kenin, Halep led 3-0 before Kenin finally got on the board win a hold in game #4 after being taken to four deuces after having led 40/15. If Halep had secured the break, the match may have ended quickly. But that turned out to hardly be the reality. Two UE errors from the Romanian and a swing volley winner from Kenin, followed by a backhand winner into the corner, got the Bannerette the break to get back on serve at 3-2. She held for 3-3, then at love for 4-4 as her confidence (and aggression) grew.

After having seemingly been on her way to a fairly routine win only minutes before, Halep now had to put her foot on the gas pedal a bit more in order to keep ahead of Kenin. She held in a tight game for 5-4 by revving up her serve at key moments, then held at love for 6-5, twice forcing Kenin to match her to stay alive in the contest. And she did just that, taking the set to a TB after converting on her fifth GP after being forced to deuce after leading 40/love.

Kenin swatted a crosscourt forehand winner to go up a mini-break at 3-2. She netted a backhand a point later to give the advantage back, then saw Halep take a mini-break lead by racing to a drop shot and putting away a winner into the corner for a 4-3 lead. Halep split her two service points, handing things over to Kenin with the TB on serve at 5-4. The Bannerette secured both her own points, with a backhand winner giving her a SP at 6-5. She sent things to a 3rd set moments later, winning a rally in which she skidded two shots off the net cord before Halep sailed a shot long.



After having hoped to get off the court without having to go three sets for the second straight round, the world #1 suddenly found herself in just such a predicament.

Kenin was immediately tested in the opening game, and she once again passed the exam with flying colors, holding after saving four BP in a seven-deuce game that lasted twenty points. As the 3rd set progressed with things remaining on serve, with Halep serving from behind, the top seed was increasingly irritated with the proceedings. But she mostly held things in check, and managed to ace Kenin up the "T" to knot the score at 2-2. Kenin led 40/15 in game #5, but netted a short ball backhand off a net cord Halep return, giving the Romanian a BP. She saved it with an unreturnable backhand down the line and went on to hold serve.

A game later, as the hard, aggressive rallies continued, a scrambling Halep won the then longest point of the match, a 17-shot battle that have her a GP. But Kenin won the next two points to reach BP. She missed on a wide forehand, then saw Halep fire an ace on a second BP. On BP #3, Halep pushed a backhand long and Kenin led 4-2. Seeking to consolidate the break, though, the 20-year old faltered, showing her inexperience by immediately displaying her frustration after falling behind 15/30 in the game, perhaps revealing to Halep that the Romanian did indeed still have the match on her racket (and between her ears). Moments later, Kenin's second DF of the match (and just the second overall in the match, 200 points in) gave Halep a BP chance, and a forehand error put the 3rd set back on serve. After holding for 4-4, Halep, in a turnabout from her pre-Roland Garros title past, appeared the picture of calm as her younger opponent's emotion and frustrations more forcefully bubbled to the surface.

Kenin fell behind love/40 in game #9, and after saving two BP with aggressive shot she dropped serve on BP #3, giving Halep the chance to finally serve out the match. She quickly reached triple MP, and on her second MP chance fired a big serve up the middle that Kenin couldn't get back, finishing off the 2:30 match with a 6-3/6-7(5)/6-4 final scoreline. Halep swept the final four games, and claimed fourteen of the last nineteen points.




So, once again Kenin showed great promise, ala in the Fed Cup final, albeit in a losing effort. But if her history tells us anything about yet another member of the new generation of future stars, she'll learn from this, figure out a way to avoid getting down on herself even while in the lead in a big match (a big no-no... just ask Simona), and will be better for it the next time she steps onto a court.

As for Halep, well, she's been here before. A year ago in Melbourne she merely survived the first two rounds of the AO, badly rolling her ankle in the 1st Round, then saving MPs and winning a 15-13 final set in the 2nd. This year, she's been forced to find her game after months without match play and little training, yet winning back-to-back three setters vs. game opponents. All in all, though she finds herself sore and tired (and having slightly pulled something in her leg in the 2nd set running for a shot), she's actually in a *better* position heading into the 3rd Round this year than she was in 2018. And last year she ended up reaching the final.



Of course, we'll soon see if these two hard-fought wins are going to be enough to allow Halep to be a contender for this title following an offseason in which she took off six weeks to recover from a back injury, a situation which allowed her to enjoy Christmas at home for the first time in ages.

But for all the "advantages" in her favor at this year's AO, they may be wiped out by what comes next. Last year she didn't face the prospect of facing *both* Williams Sisters *before* the QF. That *is* the case in 2019. Venus, who won out in three sets over Alize Cornet while Halep/Kenin was taking place, is up next, with Serena likely on deck for the winner.

But that's a battle (or two) for another day, isn't it?



=DAY 4 NOTES=
...as the early part of Thursday's schedule played out, a definitive theme emerged. One that highlighted the importance of experience.

As #6 Elina Svitolina faced off with young Slovak Viktoria Kuzmova, the reigning WTA Finals champ found herself backed into a corner, serving at 4-4 and facing down three BP. It was then that the grit and confidence the Ukrainian showed en route to winning in Singapore last fall finally came to the fore for the very first time this season. Svitolina staved off the break points to hold serve, then broke Kuzmova to steal the set a game later. With a sudden stranglehold on the match, the 2nd set was completed in a flash as Svitolina won 6-4/6-1.



#7 Karolina Pliskova, a former world #1 and slam finalist, fell behind early against Madison Brengle, the Bannerette who struggled for most of a decade (2005-14) to win her first slam MD match and, for a stretch of twenty-four majors from 2008-14 to even make her way through qualifying to play her next main draw match in a major. Brengle took a break lead in the 1st set and led 3-2, saw the Czech take a 4-3 lead, then seized the moment again and won the set 6-4. Then Pliskova ripped a page out of the Book of Petra.

She won the first four games of the 2nd set, then finished off Brengle by claiming twelve of the final thirteen games in a smashing 4-6/6-1/6-0 finish en route to victory.

#27 Camila Giorgi doesn't have the sort of big moments, rankings and titles that Svitolina and Pliskova have posted in their careers. But the Italian with the sudden, big shots has her share of big wins (nine over Top 10 players) and two tour titles. 17-year old qualifier Iga Swiatek, thus far, does not. It showed as Giorgi schooled her today, winning 6-2/6-0 to reach her second career AO 3rd Round.

Meanwhile, 18-year old Canadian Bianca Andreescu has played her heart out in the opening weeks of 2019. Qualifying and reaching the Auckland final in Week 1, counting Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams amongst her victims, and then qualifying for the AO main draw in Week 2. Nursing a back/hip injury, playing earlier this year with a wrap on her thigh, and often appearing (between MTO's) to be dragging her body form one corner to the other for most of a month, you knew the day would eventually come when she would have nothing more to give.

It didn't quite happen in any sort of head-down, get-me-out-of-here sort of way that you often see from a young player being physically tested over and over again on increasingly bigger stages for the first time. But, in the end today vs. #13 Anastasija Sevastova, Andreescu's fuel gauge was clearly flickering around "E."

After Sevastova took the opening set, Andreescu (we now know for certain) characteristically reached down and found her fight. Up 2-1 in the 2nd and having reached BP, she squandered a big moment with three consecutive UE's, then saw the Latvian fire an ace to hold for 2-2. Andreescu then dropped serve, only to get the break back a game later. From love/40 down in game #7, the teenager managed to hold on to take a 4-3 lead. After a brief hold up for some drizzling rain, Andreescu broke Sevastova and served out the 2nd set.

Not dead yet.

She broke to open the 3rd then, after dropping serve a game later, had a chance to get the break back with two MP chances in game #3. Often bending over and squating between points (wincing due to that back/hip), Andreescu nonetheless continued to fire back shots. After failing to convert a third BP chance, she swatted her racket on the court and cracked it. After retrieving another, she fired off another shot and landed a fourth BP. But Sevastova got the hold for 2-1. It was likely the most important game of the match.

In game #6, Andreescu fell behind love/40, and after chasing down a ball in the left sidelines she stopped running as Sevastova directed a winner into the open court. The Canadian grabbed at her ankle, then limped back toward the court down 4-2. She cracked another racket after losing a 15/30 lead on Sevastova's service game moments later, then pushed a shot long to go down 5-2. Still only a break down even as she was clearly physically struggling, Andreescu needed to hold to give herself another chance. But Sevastova knew what to do to prevent that. At 15/15, she moved the ball around the court, keeping the teenager off balance while making her run and hit several extra shots (as a scrambling Andreescu couldn't get enough behind two deep-court overheads to end the rally) until she couldn't get one back over the net. Having gone as far as she could, Andreescu's thrilling (and taxing) January experience finally came to an end two points later as Sevastova put away a winner behind her in the back court, winning 6-3/3-6/6-2 to reach her third AO 3rd Round, and second in the past three years. Her best run Down Under has been a Round of 16 result in 2011 in the first phase of her career.



Andreescu, should she choose to accept it, gets the opportunity for some very well-deserved rest and recuperation. Hmmm, although...



Three years and three knee surgeries ago, Margarita Gasparyan reached the Round of 16 in Melbourne. But #12 Elise Mertens reached the semifinals *last* year.

The Belgian raced to a 4-0 lead in the 1st set and won it 6-1. But once the Russian found her feet, she threatened to send things to a decide. With Mertens serving down 5-3, Gasparyan failed to put away three SP, but the Waffle's third DF of the game gave the Hordette a fourth chance. Mertens saved it by winning a 21-shot rally, and then held for 5-4. Having lost her edge, Gasparyan never really got it back. Mertens got the break a game later and held for 6-5. The Russian led 30/15 on serve in her attempt to force a TB, but a few wonky one-handed backhand shots blew things up one final time. She saved MP with a backhand down the line as Mertens fell behind the baseline, but another wayward backhand from Gasparyan gave the Belgian a second MP. A final backhand error ended it, as Mertens won 6-1/7-5 to reach the 3rd Round at her fifth straight major.



...Swiatek and Andreescu's loses, along with that of Anastasia Potapova today to #17 Madison Keys and Day 3's loss of Marketa Vondrousova to Petra Martic, officially erased four of the six teens from the draw who won 1st Round matches at this slam. Only Amanda Anisimova won yesterday, leaving Dayana Yastremska as the last teenager left to make an attempt to join her in a maiden slam 3rd Round.

The 18-year old Ukrainian was taking on #23 seed Carla Suarez-Navarro in a match still on court at the time of this post. The Spaniard was labored in her movement (by an apparent knee injury, one suspects, as she had tape on her left knee), and fell behind 6-3/3-1. She turned the momentum in her favor late in the 2nd, though, and took things to a 3rd set.

...in doubles, winners included #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova, #3 Babos/Mladenovic (the defending champs), #6 Hradecka/Makarova, #7 Chan/Chan and Ostapenko/Cirstea. #3 seeded Dabrowski/Xu fell to, of course, an all-Czech duo. In this case, Strycova/Vondrousova.

Two days after being ousted in singles by Laura Siegemund, then tearfully talking about her struggles to return to form on the court while also going through a custody battle off it, Vika Azarenka played her first doubles match with Ash Barty against the #16 seeds, Peng Shuai & Yang Zhaoxuan.

While the doubles seemed a way for Azarenka to find some current light in the tunnel, for a few moments it appeared as if she might leave with more bad memories. With Barty serving up 4-3 in the 3rd set, Vika had back-to-back net errors as the pair dropped serve. They got the break back a game later, but then Azarenka lost her serve, as well, ending the game by hitting a forehand shot into the middle of the net. At 5-5, the rains came and stopped play on all the outside courts and suspended play on the open-roofed show courts.

Barty/Azarenka immediately broke the Chinese duo when play resumed, and Barty served for the match. Down double BP at 15/40, they got a reprieve when Peng fired a shot long on BP #1, then Barty's service winner saved #2. On a third BP, Barty chased down a ball to the outer edge of (the wonderful looking) Court 7 (literally, she had to hold up her arm to avoid crashing into the wall below the covered spectator area after hitting a forehand and bumping up against the stands). Her shot ripped crosscourt between Peng and Yang, the latter of which did the full splits as she changed direction at the baseline and couldn't make an attempt at a return shot.

Barty & Azarenka won 7-5/4-6/7-5 two points later.



Later, Elise Mertens & Aryna Sabalenka knocked off #15 seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Demi Schuurs in three sets. Mertens & Schuurs won three titles together last year.

...the late-starting night session is set to feature Serena Williams vs. Genie Bouchard, as well as Garbine Muguruza vs. Johanna Konta. We can probably foresee what will happen in the former, but we'll have to wait and see which version of either player in the latter decides to show up on this night before we have any earthly idea what to expect.




...LIKE ON DAY 4:



...AND IT'S COME TO THIS IN JANUARY 2019 ON DAY 4:



...LIKE ON DAY 4: Superhero sweat is life.



...LIKE ON DAY 4: Score, Ms. Kenin!



...LIKE ON DAY 4: Hmmm, on second thought... score twice, Ms. Bencic!



...DID YOU REALIZE...? ON DAY 4: That if you combine "Halep" with "Kenin" you get "Henin?"

(Yeah, you also could get "Kalep"... but that's just stupid.)



Up next, the 2012 Australian Open...


==NEWS & NOTES==
Victoria Azarenka -- sporting the (quite famous, at one time, in these parts) white shorts look -- wins her maiden slam crown, defeating former #1's Kim Clijsters (SF) and Maria Sharapova (F) in back-to-back matches.


Two years earlier in Melbourne, she'd lost a 6-4/4-0 lead in the QF vs. Serena Williams, twice failing to serve out the match. Williams then went on to win the title the year.

Azarenka ascended to the #1 ranking in the world for the first time at the conclusion of the tournament.
===============================================
Four years after she won the AO title, Maria Sharapova's appearance in the final is her second in a major since her late 2008 shoulder surgery. She'd become the first with such an injury to win a slam crown later that season at Roland Garros.
===============================================
The 2012 AO was Kim Clijsters' final appearance in the event, as she eventually retired following that season's U.S. Open after seeing a string of injuries hamper her play or keep her out of action. The maladies included an injured ankle incurred while dancing at a wedding in the spring of '11, costing cost her most of the clay season, then the worsening of the injury forced her to miss Wimbledon. She decided to end her season four months early soon after and missed the U.S. Open, where she'd won the previous two titles. She had hip spasms in Brisbane in early 2012 and retired from a match, then badly rolled her ankle in the AO 4th Round vs. Li Na. She rallied to win that match (saving 4 con. MP from 6-2 down in the 2nd set TB), then beat Caroline Wozniacki in the QF en route to the semis, where she lost to Azarenka.
===============================================
Petra Kvitova's semifinal result was her (so far) best career result in Melbourne, coming six months after her maiden slam title run at Wimbledon in 2011. There was even a SuperPetra sighting Down Under, as the Czech trailed Vera Dushevina 0-2, love/30 in the 1st Round, then she reeled off sixteen straight points, 19-of-20 and 24-of-27 to win the 1st set and go on to claim the final twelve games of the match.

Never having reached #1 (yet) in her career, Kvitova had a shot in the weeks before the '12 Australian Open. Needing to win in Sydney in Week 2 (an event she later won in '15 and '19), she blew a 6-1/3-1 lead in the semis vs. Li and lost.
===============================================
In her first appearance in the AO since her title run in 2010, Serena Williams lost to Ekaterina Makarova in the Round of 16, her first defeat in Melbourne since 2008. The 6-2/6-3 scoreline tied her career record for fewest games won in a slam match. Until falling to the Russian, Williams has won fourteen straight AO matches, and was 25-1 back to 2003.
===============================================
Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the Mixed Doubles with Horia Tecau, claiming her first career slam title. As 2019 began, BMS had won a total of eight slam titles (5wd/3mx). She's a Wimbledon MX title away from a Career Golden MX slam, having won in the Olympics with Jack Sock in '16, as well as a Wimbledon WD title from a Career WD Slam, as well.

===============================================
Svetlana Kuznetsova & Vera Zvonareva won the women's doubles, becoming the first all-Russian duo to win such a title in a major. (Larisa Savchenko & Natasha Zvereva won two slams in 1989 and '91 while representing the USSR.)
===============================================
Back after a one year absence, Dutch wheelchair legend Esther Vergeer won her 20th career slam singles and 20th career slam doubles crowns, defeating countrywoman Aniek Van Koot 6-0/6-0 in the singles final. It'd be Vergeer's final AO, as she'd retired before the '13 season after winning her final slam crowns at Roland Garros (s/d) in her last major, then sweeping the Paralympics Golds in London that summer. With seven Golds (4s/3d) and a Silver (wd) in her career, she's the most decorated Paralympic tennis athlete ever.
===============================================
15-year old Taylor Townsend sweeps the girls singles and doubles crowns, defeating Yulia Putintseva (then-RUS) in the final. She became (and still is) just the second U.S. girl to claim the AO crown (1989-Kim Kessaris), and the first Bannerette to sweep a slam's junior titles since 1992 (Lindsay Davenport at the U.S. Open). She additionally would become the first U.S. girl to finish as the girls #1 since 1982 (Gretchen Rush), and went on to win three of the season's girls doubles slam titles in 2012.


Genie Bouchard reached her second straight girls semifinal. Two years later, she'd play in the women's final.
===============================================
Caroline Wozniacki was the #1 women's seed at the 2012 AO, the sixth straight seed at which she sat atop the draw. It was the longest streak for a woman since Martina Hingis was the top seed at eleven straight between 1998-2001. Serena Williams would surpass both streaks from 2013-16, with fifteen consecutive #1 seeds.
===============================================
Three years after her dream comeback QF run in Melbourne, Aussie Jelena Dokic played her final career slam singles match at the '12 AO, losing in the 2nd Round to Marion Bartoli under the lights on Laver on Night 4. She'd play just seven more singles matches in her career that season, winning only one (vs. Mladenovic in Kuala Lumpur). Her final pro match came in Melbourne in 2014 in a doubles match with Storm Sanders, a 1st Round loss to Rybarikova/Voegele.
===============================================


==QUOTES==
* - "The whole country probably hates me right now." - Sorana Cirstea, after defeating #6-seeded Aussie Samantha Stosur in the 1st Round

* - "THIS is the dream." - Petra Kvitova, when asked if she dreamed of tennis accomplishments as a kid, after recovering from a 2-0, 30/15 3rd set deficit vs. Carla Suarez-Navarro in the 2nd Round

* - "I gave it some milk, and it just spit it all over me. I was like, is this the thank you I get for just being nice and petting the kangaroo? I got milk all over myself. I guess I deserved that for the story last year." - Caroline Wozniacki, on her latest zoo encounter with a kangaroo, one year after having spun a tall tale during the '11 AO about being scratched by a 'roo, a story that most thought was a true one at the time

* - "I'm 24 years old, almost 25. I love this sport as much as I loved it, you know, when I was at that age (17, when she won Wimbledon). I've also been through a lot of tough times. I've also said the success that I can achieve, the fact that I got myself back to being Top 5 in the world, playing tennis again, playing at a high level, competing at this level is pretty remarkable from where I was on a surgery table, not knowing if I'd ever be able to hit a serve again." - Maria Sharapova

* - [Commentating a match featuring Italian Sara Errani] "She's so busy on the return of serve my calves are getting sore just watching her." - Martina Navratilova
* - [When asked if Errani plays with the same zest as countrywoman Francesca Schiavone] "She plays with the same kind of passion. I think it's something in the pasta."

* - "I think it's just too loud. I don't think it's very necessary to scream that loud. So if they (the WTA) want to do something, why not?" - Aga Radwanska, when asked about rules being instituted against players grunting during points
* - [On Sharapova's on-court noise] "About Maria, I mean, what can I say? For sure that is pretty annoying and just too loud."
* - "Isn't she back in Poland already?" - Maria Sharapova, when told of Radwanska's comments. Sharapova reached the final, while Radwanska had lost in the quarterfinals.

* - [On Caroline Wozniacki] "Today you just can't let yourself get pushed back. She has to try to move in, step forward, otherwise there is always going to be somebody coming on top of her at a grand slam. She's a great player. I wish I would see her come in a little bit more." - Martina Hingis

* - "We won the match like, twice!" - an angry Elena Vesnina, after she and partner Sania Mirza finally defeated Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond in the QF on their 8th MP. They *thought* they'd won on their 7th MP on a double bounce that wasn't called, the umpire didn't see and that Huber refused to admit had happened. The whole thing set off an on-court argument involving Mirza and (especially) Vesnina and Huber. Raymond, who was brought to tears by it all, later apologized to Mirza & Vesnina for Huber's actions and tweeted congratulations. Vesnina tweeted back, "Thank you Lisa. It was great match and u are better player and person on and off the court, then your partner!!!” Vesnina and Huber would get involved in another incident later in the season at Wimbledon.

* - "It's a dream come true. I have been dreaming and working so hard to win the grand slam, and being #1 is a pretty good bonus. Just the perfect ending and the perfect position to be in." - Victoria Azarenka




































*SERENA WILLIAMS at THE SLAMS*
69-1...1st Round ['12 RG: Razzano]
66-2...2nd Round ['98 AO: Venus; '14 RG: Muguruza] *
58-8...3rd Round
49-8...4th Round (1 w/o)
36-13...Quarterfinals
31-5...Semifinals
23-8...Finals
==
62-22...three-setters
AO: 15-6
RG: 17-8
WI: 17-4
US: 13-4
==
walkover L: 4r 2018 RG (Sharapova)
==
WHEN LOSES 1st SET: 39-37
--
* - to play AO vs. Bouchard

*AO "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS*
=2006=
Olga Savchuk, UKR (3rd Rd.)
=2007=
Anne Kremer, LUX (all 2nd Rd.)
Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS
Tamira Paszek, AUT
Julia Vakulenko, UKR
Renata Voracova, CZE
=2008=
Marta Domachowska, POL (4th Rd.)
=2009=
Elena Baltacha, GBR (all 2nd Rd.)
Alberta Brianti, ITA
Sesil Karatantcheva, KAZ
=2010=
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (4th Rd.)
=2011=
Vesna Manasieva (now Dolonc/SRB), RUS (3rd Rd.)
=2012=
Nina Bratchikova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
=2013=
Valeria Savinykh, RUS (both 3rd Rd.)
Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
=2014=
Zarina Diyas, KAZ (3rd Rd.)
=2015=
Lucie Hradecka, CZE (3rd Rd.)
=2016=
Zhang Shuai, CHN (QF)
=2017=
Mona Barthel, GER (both 4th Rd.)
Jennifer Brady, USA
=2018=
Denisa Allertova, CZE (4th Rd.)
=2019=
Bianca Andreescu, CAN (all 2nd Rd.)
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
Astra Sharma, AUS
Iga Swiatek, POL
Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS

*AO "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"*
2012 GBR (0-4 1st Rd.; all on Day 1)
2013 AUS (1-6 in 1st Rd., 1-7 overall)
2014 ITA (top-seeded #7 Errani & #12 Vinci out 1st)
2015 CHN (year after Li champ, 1-5 in 1st Round)
2016 AUS (1-8 in 1st Rd.; only AUS-born in 2nd is a Brit)
2017 ROU (2-4 1st Rd., First Loss, 1st Seed Out, 3 Top 32 defeats)
2018 USA (0-8 start/1-9 on Day 1; 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open SF ousted)
2019 ROU (2-4 1st Rd., losses to two teens, #25 seed)

*AO WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2008*
2008 Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko
2009 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2010 Serena Williams / Venus Williams
2011 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2012 Svetlana Kuznetsova / Vera Zvonareva
2013 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2014 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2016 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic
2019 ?

**AO MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS - since 2009**
2009 Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupathi
2010 Cara Black & Mahesh Bhupathi
2011 Katarina Srebotnik & Daniel Nestor
2012 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Horia Tecau
2013 Jarmila Gajdosova & Matthew Ebden
2014 Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor
2015 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes
2016 Elena Vesnina & Bruno Soares
2017 Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal
2018 Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic
2019 ?

*BACK-to-BACK US/AO TITLES OVER TWO SEASONS - Open era*
1969-70 Margaret Court, AUS
1970-71 Margaret Court, AUS
1988-89 Steffi Graf, FRG
1989-90 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991-92 Monica Seles, YUG
1992-93 Monica Seles, YUG
1993-94 Steffi Graf, GER
1997-98 Martina Hingis, SUI
2002-03 Serena Williams, USA
2003-04 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2008-09 Serena Williams, USA
2010-11 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2014-15 Serena Williams, USA




TOP QUALIFIER: Astra Sharma/AUS
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Nominee: 2nd Rd. - #1 Halep d. Kenin
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
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): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
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
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 (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: In 3rd Rd.: Barty, Birrell
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (??): Nominees: Anisimova, Birrell, Yastremska
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Bacsinszky
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #10 Kasatkina (loses 12 con. games in 1st Rd. loss vs. Bacsinszky)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xx
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Halep
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 4. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:17 AM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Barty/Sakkari, Collins/Garcia, Kvitova/Bencic are the popcorn matches for today.

Halep looked better, movement was free, but you are right, Venus probably is the small favorite for that match.

Brengle is a huge gift for Pliskova. Got her to move her feet, because there are better defenders than Brengle left in the draw.

Stat of the Day-10- The amount of women who got their first career slam win this week.

The youngsters are coming, the youngsters are coming. But no Brits on this list as Boulter had one win before this. Listed are the ages of our stars, the a few comments.

17-Swiatek
17-Anisimova
17-Potapova
18-Yastremska
18-Andreescu
20-Birrell
21-Zidansek
22-Hives
23-Sharma
25-Collins

Not a drawback, but the two oldest are also the college champs.

At the beginning of the week, Birrell was the lowest ranked at 240, while Collins was the highest at 35. That made her close to being an anomaly, a seed with no slam wins. If you though Sabalenka was at the USO last year, she wasn't, as she won one slam match in 2017.

Yastremska the only won with a WTA title.

US(Anisimova/Collins) only country with more than one without use of a wild card, while the Aussies had 3 WC ranked below 200 to win(Sharma/Hives/Birrell).

Chalk and youth. Of the 64 first round winners, 26 were seeds, plus the 10 first timers. That's over half the draw. Shows that there is a bunch of journeymen about to get phased out.

Thu Jan 17, 08:55:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I think she can beat Venus, but it's difficult to imagine in what world she knocks off both her and Serena back-to-back and reaches the QF.

Well, I mean, unless Yastremska shocks the world and "becomes the talk of the sport for a few days"... I didn't think she'd get such at least the opportunity to live up to that prediction so early in the season, but, what the heck, take yer shot, girl. ;)

(Good luck with that.) :)

In a perfect world, Collins and Sharma's results would be a jab in the gut to the ITF organizers who have apparently totally disregarded college players in the new Transition Tour. But I guess in a perfect world they wouldn't have dreamed up the Transition Tour in the first place. It seems designed to help juniors while hangs college players mostly out to dry when it comes getting into draws.

"Shows that there is a bunch of journeymen about to get phased out." -- also probably means the qualifying rounds are going to get even more competitive, too

Thu Jan 17, 01:20:00 PM EST  

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