Sunday, February 17, 2019

Wk.7- Belgian Rumble in the Jungle Desert

Rumble, young Waffle, rumble.

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Congrats @mertenselise ???? @qatartennis

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Often the key to what a player's future holds can be seen not by what they do after they win, but how they respond to doing just the opposite.

23-year old Belgian Elise Mertens, though hardly garnering headlines comparable to some of her peers, has been a rising star on tour the last two years. Ranked outside the Top 100 coming out of the 2016 season, she was at the center of mild controversy early the next year, as she engaged in a "battle of wills" with lucky loser Sachia Vickery in Hobart following her qualifying run there. With the Australian Open's qualifying tournament set to begin Melbourne mid-week, and both looking reach the AO MD (for the first time since '14 for Vickery, and the first time ever for Mertens), the two met in the 2nd Round after somewhat unexpectedly winning their 1st Round matches. The winner would advance in the draw, while the loser would go on to Melbourne. And both sort of wanted to be the latter. So one game in both tried their best to find a way to legitimately retire from the match in surely one of the crazier moments in tennis history. As it turned out, while leading 1-0, Vickey beat Mertens to the punch and "won" the retirement battle.

[NOTE: The Hobart calamity sparked a rule change, as players who retire and lose via walkovers in tour events can no longer participate in slam qualifying that takes place that same week.]

"Winner" Vickey went on to lose in the opening round of AO qualifying (but went on to make her Top 100 debut in '18, and finally notched her first AO MD win in '19), while the "losing" Mertens (grudgingly) accepted her fate... and claimed her maiden tour singles title. The Belgian got her first MD wins at a major in Paris a few months later (reaching the 3rd Round) and climbed into the Top 40 in '17. She successfully defended her Hobart crown in '18, and in her belated AO debut rumbled all the way to the semifinals, aggressively powering her way through Elina Svitolina in the QF, to kick off a career year which saw her win two more titles, 46 matches, post additional 4r-3r-4r results at slams and finish at #13.

Things didn't start off as well for Mertens this January. She didn't win her "customary" first-month title in '19, losing her opening match of the season to Kiki Bertens in three sets in Brisbane, then falling in the QF to Ash Barty in Sydney. A year after reaching the semis, she went out to Madison Keys in the 3rd Round of the AO, with her points loss enough to knock her out of the Top 20 for the first time in nearly a year. Things went from "not-as-good" to awful in Fed Cup week, as Belgium's hosted 1st Round tie against France saw Mertens fail to win a set in two matches as she was upset by Alize Cornet (2-14 in FC before then) and handled 2 & 3 by Caroline Garcia in a clinching singles match.

Sliding down the rankings and having come up quite small in Liege, Mertens came to Doha looking to right her course. Or else continue to slip, perhaps leading to an eventual tailspin.

Well, her response was to have what may have been the best week of her career, a stretch which saw her produce consecutive upsets of three Top 10 players -- accounting for half her six career such wins. After getting past Katerina Siniakova in straights, she did the same to Kristyna Pliskova (in as a LL for her #2-seeded twin Karolina), then knocked off #8 Kiki Bertens (in 2) and #6 Angelique Kerber (in 3) to reach the biggest final of her career. There, she rallied from a 6-3/2-0 deficit, stepping into the court and playing a more aggressive brand of tennis (the same sort of style that produced her AO semi run) after taking a medical timeout to treat a back injury early in the 2nd set. She wore down the Romanian, dealing with foot issues that hampered her (painful) movement, and won 3-6/6-4/6-3.



The win makes Mertens 5-1 in career tour finals, and lifts her back into the Top 20 at #16.

It all may not mean that the Waffle will back up her career season with another of similar quality in '19, but it surely settles any of the dust that might have been kicked up had she allowed her negative momentum to carry over yet another week in the desert, giving it the chance to pick up still more speed as the schedule heads into the spring. At that point, it very well could have taken on a life of its own. But that possibility was effectively stamped down by an insistent, extended performance that has to leave many wondering whether *this* is the Mertens we'll see the rest of the season.

If so, the Belgian's (so far) low-key rumble might still ratchet things up an additional decibel or two.




*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*
DOHA, QATAR (Premier/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Elise Mertens/BEL def. Simona Halep/ROU 3-6/6-4/6-3
D: Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan (TPE/TPE) d. Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Demi Schuurs (GER/NED) 6-1/3-6 [10-6]



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elise Mertens/BEL
...it's not often that a player can boast of surviving back-to-back three-setters against *both* Kerber and Halep, but Mertens did it with flying colors, with her win over the (then) #3-ranked Romanian tying for her career best victory (#3 Stephens/Cincinnati '18). Before staging her comeback in the final, she'd been 0-5 in matches this season after losing the 1st set, and dropped twelve straight dating back to last August, with her most recent win coming vs. Rebecca Peterson in a 2nd Round match in Cincinnati last summer (and that one took a 3rd set TB to get the "W").


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RISER: Jen Brady/USA
...Brady isn't *all* the way back, but the 23-year old Bannerette does seem to be making progress of late. After reaching a career high of #60 in 2017 after a pair of Round of 16 runs at the Australian and U.S. Opens, Brady slumped to outside the Top 100 last season (going 2-4 in slam MD). Having been on a three-match losing streak (w/ an additional walkover exit) dating back to last fall as she headed into this year's AO qualifying, she's since caught a mini-wave of success. She failed to qualify for the MD in Melbourne, but she won two matches before falling to Beatriz Haddad in the final round and then went on to reach the doubles semis with Alison Riske after posting wins over Melichar/Peschke and the Chan sisters. A pair of successful qualifying runs have followed, first in Hua Hin (after which she upset Caroline Garcia in the 1st Round) and then this weekend in Dubai when she posted victories over Alexandra Dulgheru and Dalila Jakupovic. As Brady prepares for her opening around match against Alona Ostapenko, she's got a bit of momentum going in her favor, having gone 7-2 in her last nine Q/MD outings.
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SURPRISES: Lulu Sun/SUI, Valentina Ivanov/Amber Marshall (NZL/AUS), and Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL
...the $15K Port Pirie challenger in Australia played host to a handful of first-time teenage champions this week.

In the singles, 17-year old Swiss (and, for a blink of an eye, also a New Zealander) Sun claimed her first pro title in her second career final. The #21-ranked girl, a quarterfinalist at this year's AO, defeated veteran Bannerette Jennifer Elie, 32, who was seeking her first title since 2012, in a 6-2/6-3 final.



The Port Pirie doubles went to another pair of first-timer champions, as Kiwi Valentina Ivanov, 17, teamed with Aussie Amber Marshall, 17, to defeat Patricia Bontgen & Lisa Mays 7-5/6-2 in the final.



And in Surprise, Arizona -- suprise! -- Karatantcheva reminded everyone that she's still here. Still not yet 30, the 29-year old Bulgarian has something of a gloriously loony history, one that includes a #1 junior ranking and RG girls title at age 14, quite a few maybe-not-wise comments, a big slam run (2005 RG QF at age 15), a two-year drug ban, a nation-hopping situation (from BUL to KAZ, she was one of the first to make such a move in search of monetary and training support) or two (back to BUL in '14), and a successful comeback that's now more than a decade old.

Karatantcheva's return from her ban hit a high note when she won, naturally, a crown in Surprise in 2008. Since 2011, she'd only won one other singles title -- 2017 in Las Vegas, again, *of course* she won there -- until her title in Arizona. Ranked #232, Karatantcheva posted wins over Paula Cristina Goncalves, Giuliana Olmos, Daniela Seguel and Allie Kiick to reach her first final in seventeen months. After dropping the opening set to Coco Gauff, who also became the girls #1 at age 14 last year, she gradually took control, winning 5-7/6-3/6-1.

It's Karatantcheva's eighth career ITF win (the first was in September 2003, six months before Gauff was born). She never reached a tour-level singles final in what was the peak of her career. Of course, at just 29, who's to know what comes next? We've seen crazier comebacks to achieve WTA success, right? And, come on, Sesil winning a WTA title is a story that the Most Interesting Tour not only needs, but should desire with all the oxygen that gives it life.
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VETERANS: Simona Halep/ROU and Angelique Kerber/GER
...they came up one match short of adding another chapter to a series that included 2018's Match of the Year in the AO semis, but both Halep and Kerber got something out of the week in Doha even while neither went home with a title (*both* going out by the hand of Mertens in three set encounters).



After arriving on the shores of the '19 season with quite a few questions swirling around her season, from the back injury that ended her '18 campaign early to the absence of coach Darren Cahill and questions (in some corners) about her drive after reaching the slam mountaintop last year, Halep has gone about proving through the first two months that she's still a force to be reckoned with even as she's lost her #1 ranking and has yet to win a title. The Australian Open gave the still-rounding-into-shape-after-six-weeks-of-offseason-inactivity Halep a good starting foundation for her next career chapter, and her Round of 16 loss to Serena Williams was one of the best match-ups between the two to date. After leading the Romanians to an upset road win over the Czechs (largely due to her huge victory over Karolina Pliskova), one didn't know what to expect of her in Doha. We should have, though. Essentially, she battled, fought and won, even if she didn't *end* the week lifting that golden falcon trophy. After defeating Lesia Tsurenko, she saved a pair of SP vs. Julia Goerges en route to downing the German in two sets, then rallied from 4-1 (and nearly 5-1) down in the 3rd set vs. Elina Svitolina in the semis to record her second Top 10 win in four matches and reach her first final since being a MP away from pulling off the Rogers Cup/Cincannati two-fer last summer.



Ultimately, after holding a set and 2-0 lead on Elise Mertens in the Doha final, Halep saw the Belgian up her aggression and find her way back into the match after a medical time-out at 2-1, then pull away down the stretch as Halep struggled with her movement (blisters) after having to have her foot re-taped between the 2nd and 3rd sets. Still, she'll climb back to #2 in the new rankings.

Oh, and after bringing aboard Thierry Van Cleemput as a new coach this past week, it didn't take long for Halep to re-think things (which I guess explains why she never called him onto the court during the final)...



So, if you're keeping track, that means *both* the #1 and #2 players in the world are currently coach-less. (Of course, if this were the ATP tour I suspect the leading commentary would include something about the players in question being "grounded" and "not reliant on anyone's guidance" (see), but since it's the WTA it'll likely go along the lines of them being "without direction." So, you know.)

Meanwhile, in her first outing since her shocking blowout loss to Danielle Collins in Melbourne, Kerber proved to have a series of battles to win. After having lost eighteen straight games in a pair of clay court matches against Anett Kontaveit in 2017-18, Kerber led the Estonian 6-1/5-3 before encountering some difficulty. After failing to square away two MP, she had four more at 6-5 before finally getting the win on #8 in the match-ending TB. Kerber then defeated Barbora Strycova on MP #3 after coming back from a set down to defeat the Czech. Forcing a 3rd set after dropping the 1st, she lost to Mertens in the semis, falling a match short of returning to the Top 5. Still, the semifinal is her best result since winning Wimbledon last summer.
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COMEBACK: Lucie Hradecka/CZE
...fresh off her first singles title ($25K) in five years in Slovakia, the 33-year old Czech qualified in Dubai after getting a spot in the draw as an alternate. After defeating wild card Brit Eden Silva in three sets, Hradecka took out #4-seed Polona Hercog via a love 3rd set to reach her first tour-level WS draw since she lost in the QF to countrywoman Lucie Safarova in Quebec City in September 2017. This run ended a string of five consecutive failed attempts to qualify at a WTA-level tournament since that Canadian event. Having entered the week ranked #456, Hradecka was 11-2 in '19 with a nine-match winning streak before losing her 1st Round match on Sunday to Belinda Bencic.
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FRESH FACES: Karolina Muchova/CZE and Yuki Naito/JPN
...22-year old Muchova has not yet had her turn in Fed Cup competition, but the past six months shows her to be *the* Maiden on the move.



This past week in Doha, Muchova qualified and posted victories over Samantha Stosur and Hsieh Su-wei to reach her first career tour QF, improving to 10-3 on the season moving from #132 to a new career high just outside the Top 100 at #103. Last fall, Muchova qualified to make her major debut at the U.S. Open, and posted wins over Dayana Yastremska and Garbine Muguruza. She also made it through qualifying at this year's Australian Open.

A week ago, Naito (jr.#10) won her maiden pro singles title at a $15K challenger in Antalya, Turkey. She nearly won her second this weekend in the same city, falling 7–6(7–3)/2–6/6–2 in the final against Ukraine's Maryna Chemyshova. Naito has already posted some big doubles results in her young career, winning a pair of $100K events and an $80K crown with Japanese vet Rika Fujiwara from 2016-18.

Naito celebrated her 18th birthday on Saturday.


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DOWN: Elina Svitolina/UKR
...as always, there were several disappointing post-Fed Cup outings in Week 7 (though some were replaced with quite a few outright withdrawals this time around, heading off some potentially bad-looking early-round defeats), but the result that stands out -- and not in a a good way -- involves a player who wasn't anywhere near a live match on FC weekend.

Svitolina's week didn't start badly, but it ended that way. Having requested a wild card into the Doha draw, after having won in Dubai the last two years, the Ukrainian posted wins over Alona Ostapenko and Karolina Muchova, and looked in fine form for two and a half sets vs. Simona Halep in the semifinals. She led the Romanian 4-1 in the 3rd, and had points for a 5-1 scoreboard bulge. But the more things change the more they stubbornly stay the same, at least for Svitolina.

Two years ago in the Roland Garros QF, Svitolina blew a set and 5-1 lead against Halep, twice serving for the match and holding a MP in a 2nd set TB. After being forced to a 3rd set, she was taken out at love, falling short in what *still* remains her closest attempt to reach her maiden slam semi.

After nearly getting to 5-1 vs. Halep in Doha, Svitolina never won another game as Halep rallied to win the match. After dropping that RG match, Svitolina had won her last three meetings with Halep, winning in controlling fashion by 1/1, 3/4 and 0/4 scores. That recent history *and* last fall's title run at the WTA Finals were supposed to help her avoid such calamities as this, a situation which had she avoided it would have seen her return to the Top 5 on Monday. Instead, Halep moves back up to #2 without a title defense in sight until Paris (with #1 Naomi Osaka coach-less and staring at her Indian Wells follow-up in a few weeks). Instead, another eyebrow-raiser is thrown onto a (still) steadily growing pile of red flags for the Ukrainian.

At least she wasn't able to drop a love final set this time, though, right? Oh, well. There's always next time, I guess.

So far, no "trust the process" mantras have been spotted on social media.
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ITF PLAYER: Vitalia Diatchenko/RUS
...a week after picking up a $25K title at a challenger event in Grenoble, the 28-year old Russian picked up another this weekend, claiming the $60K Shrewsbury, GBR event to run her winning streak to ten matches. Her 5-7/6-1/6-4 defeat of Yanina Wickmayer in the final will lift Diatchenko twenty-nine spots to #98, her first Top 100 ranking since September 2015, after which her progress was stopped cold by injuries. She retired from her U.S. Open 1st Round loss to Serena Williams with a foot injury and didn't' play again until May of the next year, and was later out for three-quarters of the '17 season, as well.


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JUNIOR STARS: Diane Parry/FRA and Coco Gauff/USA
...16-year old Pastry Parry, the girls #11, picked up the Grade 1 Banana Bowl title in Brazil, her biggest title since taking the Grade A Yucatan Cup in November (w/ wins over a pair of junior #1's, Coco Gauff and Clara Burel). Parry won back-to-back three-setters in the QF and SF, then defeated Hurricane Tyra Black 6-4/6-4 in the final. Black, 17, was playing in her first event since her 3rd Round loss to Charlotte Chavatipon (a G1 winner a week ago) in December's Orange Bowl event.



In the $25K challenger in Surprise, Arizona it was 14-year old Gauff, who was briefly the youngest-ever junior #1 last season, grabbing headlines as she reached the finals of both the singles (a career first)) and doubles (her second in a row). In doubles, she teamed with Kiwi Paige Hourigan to win a 14-12 deciding TB over Usue Arconada & Emina Bektas in the final to pick up her maiden pro crown. After postings wins over #4-seed Ashley Kratzer, #8 Ann Li and veteran Olga Govortsova in singles, Gauff won the opening set vs. #3 Sesil Karatantcheva in the final, but was eventually worn down as the Kazakh vet won the final two sets 3 & 1 (and led 5-0 in the 3rd).

Still, it's likely a very small sign of potentially big things to come from a player who's still a month away from her 15th birthday.

This was Gauff's sixth pro event, all since last May. So far, she's 14-6 in singles, with two successful qualifying runs and a final. In doubles, she's 8-2 with two finals and a title.
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DOUBLES: Chan Hao-ching & Latisha Chan, TPE/TPE
...could it be that the Chan sisters have finally realized that their best option is also the closest at hand?



The siblings have already won more titles (12 after their Doha run) with each other than with any other partners in their careers, and only the Williamses have claimed more in tour history as an all-sisters duo, but one gets the sense that they could have won far more by now had they both not spent significant periods of time playing with others. Latisha's one brilliant season with Martina Hingis in 2017 being the exception, most of the time the other was often probably their *best* option.

The Chans reached their third final of the season (already) this week (having split Brisbane and Hobart), becoming the first pair to win multiple '19 titles as they ran their season record to 14-2. Having reached the final without having lost a set, defeating one half of last year's defending WD champions (Alona Ostapenko, playing with a different partner in Veronika Kudermetova) in the semis, they then claimed the crown by winning a 10-6 super-TB to down first-time twosome Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Demi Schuurs, who'd also gotten as far without dropping a set (Schuurs was already playing with her fourth different doubles partner in '19, counting Fed Cup, having only gone 1-4 before her Week 7 stint with ALG).

The win gives Latisha thirty-one career WTA crowns, while Hao-ching now has sixteen. They're 12-7 together in tour finals, as well as 4-0 in WTA 125 and ITF challenger title-deciding matches since 2007.
===============================================


WHEELCHAIR: Jordanne Whiley/GBR
...Whiley made her return to the wheelchair tour a doubly successful one, sweeping the singles and doubles (w/ Dana Mathewson) titles at the Wrexham Indoor Series 3 event in England. The 26-year old former U.S. Open singles (2015) and nine-time doubles slam winner, playing for the first time since the '17 Wimbledon and since becoming a mother, double-bageled her 1st Round opponent, and followed up with victories over the #3 (Mathewson), #5, #2 (Michaela Spaanstra) and #1 (Katharina Kruger) seeds consecutively en route to the title.


===============================================



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1. Doha SF - Simona Halep def. Elina Svitolina
...6-3/3-6/6-4. Having won three straight matches over Halep in dominant fashion (36-13 in games) since blowing a set and 5-1 lead and a MP in the RG QF against the Romanian, Svitolina was in control here. Playing with a forward style, she led 4-1 in the 3rd and had three BP for another 5-1 lead. But once Halep construction an eight-minute hold for 4-2, Svitolina lost control of the narrative of the match. Halep broke for 4-3, then held at love to knot the set.

A running forehand pass down the line gave Halep her first BP of game #9, during which the Ukrainian (seemingly grasping at straws) unsuccessfully challenged two shots (both clearly called correctly) that had given the Romanian BP opportunities. Finally, on BP #3, Svitolina flew a forehand and Halep led 5-4. Things went quickly in game #10, as back-to-back Svitolina errors preceded Halep blazing a forehand past her at the net to reach 40/love. On MP #2, Svitolina's wide forehand provided the final point in Halep's five-game rush to close out the match.



The thing about this... it all played out in an almost routine, unsurprisingly fashion. From everyone's POV. Which may say a *lot* about both players at this point.
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2. Doha Final - Elise Mertens def. Simona Halep
...3-6/6-4/6-3. For a while, it looked like a Church of Simona moment, as the Romanian led 6-3/2-0. But Mertens' eight-minute MTO for a back injury preceded a stark change in momentum. The Belgian returned with a more aggressive mindset, and wrestled away the course of the match. After being broken at love to send things to a 3rd, Halep (blisters) had her entire right foot re-wrapped between sets. Mertens broke to start the final set, then held for 2-0 in a long second game, denying multiple BPs and winning on her third GP. After Mertens lost the break lead, got it back, then gave it back again, Halep's struggles with her movement prevented her from (literally) putting her foot down right when the Belgian seemed perhaps susceptible to giving up the lead in the set in the closing games. With Mertens again up a break at 5-3, Halep finally slipped away, falling down love/30 and 15/40 before the Waffle secured her third straight Top 10 win in Doha and her biggest career title.


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3. Doha 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Anett Kontaveit
...6-1/7-6(3). Kerber had lost eighteen straight games vs. Kontaveit coming into this one, but led 6-1/5-3 and held 2 MP when the Estonian tried to turn the luck back in her favor. Four more MP at 6-5 were denied, then Kontaveit held to force a TB. Finally, on MP #8, it was all over.
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4. Doha 1st Rd. - Kiki Bertens def. Carmila Giorgi
...0-6/7-6(7)/6-4. Bertens began the week in Doha as if she *had* played Fed Cup on the weekend, dropping the 1st at love to Giorgi (who had, sort of). The Italian led 5-1 in the 2nd set TB, but still couldn't take out Kiki.


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5. Doha QF - Angelique Kerber def. Barbora Strycova
...1-6/6-2/7-6(4). A round after needing eight MP to dispatch Kontaveit, Kerber had to come back from a set down to defeat Strycova. After holding a MP at 5-4 in the 3rd, she was taken to a TB by the Czech where she finally won on MP #3, denying Strycova what would have been just her second win in nine matches vs. the German. Tip: then was not a good time to give Bara her towel.


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6. Doha 1st Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1/4-6/6-2
Doha 2nd Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Alona Ostapenko 6-4/6-4
...Alona's slow-moving, sustenance-gathering caravan into the heart of the '19 season continued in Doha, as she went the distance in 1st, lost close but routinely in the 2nd, but then rebounded (a year after winning the title w/ Gaby Dabrowski, who lost in the 1st Rd. this year with Xu Yifan) by reaching the WD semis with Veronika Kudermetova, posting wins over #2-seeded Hsieh/Strycova as well as Atawo/Srebotnik.
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7. Doha 1st Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Katerina Siniakova 6-4/6-2
Doha 1st Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2/6-0
Doha 1st Rd. - Anna Blinkova def. Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(5)/6-4
Dubai 1st Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei def. Anastasija Sevastova 6-4/6-2
...the Fed Cup curse? Or maybe just the Curse of Hsieh Su-wei?
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8. Doha Q1 - Madison Brengle def. Genie Bouchard 5-7/6-3/6-4
Dubai 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Vera Lapko 6-3/6-4
...Genie is suddenly looking up at Bianca Andreescu in the Canadian rankings (#68 to #79). Time to pick it up? She'll face Halep next in Dubai.


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HM- Dubai 1st Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Dayana Yastremska
...4-6/6-3/6-3. After two previous straight sets losses to the teenager, Muguruza finally gets a win. She broke the Ukrainian eight times, but was helped along by Yastemska's numerous DF's and a possible ankle injury, as Mugu wasn't exactly a "serving machine" herself throughout the match.


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Of note, there's a new/old member of the Top 10 this week...



1. Doha Final - CHAN HAO-CHING/LATISHA CHAN def. Demi Schuurs/Anna-Lena Groenefeld
...6-1/3-6 [10-6]. With twelve titles in hand, if they can claim (hmmm...) maybe three more this season, the Chans would bring the Williams Sisters' all-time sister mark (22) within immediate sight. With Serena & Venus not likely to add many (if any) more crowns to their total, they might be destined to one day top the list. Well, unless the Williamses might take the Navratilova route of playing occasional doubles for a decade once they're through with singles -- even *less* likely, but still....
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**WTA SINGLES TITLES - 2017-19**
9 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (5/4/0)
7 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (1/5/1)
6 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (3/2/1)
6 - Kiki Bertens, NED (2/3/1)
5 - Julia Goerges, GER (2/2/1)
5 - ELISE MERTENS, BEL (1/3/1)
5 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (2/3/0)
4 - Simona Halep, ROU (1/3/0)
4 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (3/1/0)

**2019 DEFEATED #1 SEED, WON TITLE**
Hobart - Sonya Kenin, USA (1r-Garcia)
Hua Hin - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (QF-Muguruza)
DOHA - ELISE MERTENS, BEL (F-Halep)

**2019 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING**
#4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (Australian Open)
#8 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Brisbane)
#8 - Kiki Bertens, NED (Saint Petersburg)
#9 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (Sydney)
#13 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Shenzhen)
#14 - Julia Goerges, GER (Auckland)
#21 - ELISE MERTENS, BEL (DOHA)
#47 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
#56 - Sonya Kenin, USA (Hobart)

**WTA DOUBLES TITLES - 2017-19**
14 - LATISHA CHAN, TPE (11/1/2)
9 - Martina Hingis, SUI (9 ret.)
9 - Timea Babos, HUN (6/3/0)
8 - Andrea S.-Hlavackova, CZE (6/2/0)
8 - Demi Schuurs, NED (1/7/0)
6 - Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (3/2/1)

**WTA ALL-SISTERS DOUBLES TITLES**
22 - Serena & Venus Williams, USA
12 - CHAN HAO-CHING & LATISHA, TPE
3 - Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova, CZE
3 - Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko, CZE
3 - Lyudmyla & Nadiia Kichenok, CZE

**HALEP vs. SVITOLINA**
2019 Duabi SF (HC) = HALEP 6-3 3-6 6-4 (ES led 4-1 in 3rd, 3 BP for 5-1)
2018 Rome F (RC) = SVITOLINA 0-6 4-6
2017 WTA Finals rr (HC) = SVITOLINA 3-6 4-6
2017 Canadian Open SF (HC) = SVITOLINA 1-6 1-6
2017 RG QF (RC) = HALEP 3-6,7-6(6),6-0 (ES led 6-3/5-1, served for match twice, 1 MP)
2017 Rome F (RC) = SVITOLINA 6-4,5-7,1-6
2014 Fed Cup Zone ROU/UKR PP (HC) = HALEP 6-3,7-5
2013 Tour.of Champions rr (HC) = HALEP 6-1,6-1

**REACHED DOHA/DUBAI FINALS**
[2008 two Doha events in Feb/Oct; 2009-10 Doha only as Oct. WTA Chsp.]
2001 Martina Hingis = Doha W, Dubai W
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova = Dubai RU, Doha RU
2007 Justine Henin = Dubai W, Doha W
2009 Venus Williams = Dubai W, Doha WTA Chsp RU
2011 Caroline Wozniacki = Dubai W, Doha RU
2017 Caroline wozniacki = Doha RU, Dubai RU

**2019 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS**
TRARALGON AUS G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
COFFEE BOWL BRA G1: Abigail Forbes/USA
RPM JUNIOR OPEN CZE G1: Kristyna Lavickova/CZE
AUSTRALIAN OPEN JUNIORS: Clara Tauson/DEN
COPA BARRANQUILLA COL G1: Savannah Broadus/USA
MUNDIAL JUVENIL DE TENIS ECU G1: Abigail Forbes/USA
ASUNCION BOWL PAR G1: Charlotte Chavatipon/USA
BANANA BOWL BRA G1: Diane Parry/FRA



Is Captain Rinaldi watching?






DIVISION LEADERS
=MAPLE LEAF=
6-1 = Regina Force
5-2 = Saskatoon Berrypickers
4-3 = Alberta Bison
0-7 = Yukon Malamutes
=ROCKY MOUNTAIN=
3-4 = Colorado Range
3-4 = Idaho Potato Bugs
3-4 = Cheyenne Killer Clowns
2-5 = Helena Guardians
=ASIAN=
7-0 = The Herders of Mongolia
4-3 = EC Astana
4-3 = Nanchang Heroes
1-6 = Siberian Tsars














All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:40 PM 

8 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Chan sisters coming out on fire.

Mladenovic and Kasatkina won. But not jumping on the bandwagon just yet.

Wasn't planning to copy you about Muchova, but extremely high on her for the IW/Miami swing.

Stat of the Week- 26- The number of WTA events played by Fatma Al-Nabhani.

Qatar doesn't have any ranked players, and since Tunisia to Dubai is sort of like NY to LA, seriously, that is over 3000 miles away, Al-Nabhani from Oman, a mere 450 miles away, got a wild card.

This is where things get interesting. I can't be too mad, because there aren't really any other options, but with the exception of Seoul in 2016, the other 25 times she has been in a WTA event, it has been due to a WC. In fact, she has gotten one to either Doha or Dubai, if not both, every year since 2006.

If I am being sarcastic, that would make her the Mattek-Sands of the Middle East. But I would be wrong, because she has a ways to go to catch up to Bethanie. Since she got her first WC at the now defunct Philadelphia event in 1999, she has gotten 38 on US soil counting both main draw and qualies.

The main problem for Al-Nabhani is that she is almost a guaranteed loss. With today's loss to Mladenovic, she is 1-25, with the one win being vs Bychkova. Only one other time has she won a set, and that was against, well, you will have to wait for it, because she will be on the Down Side.

Quiz Time!
Elise Mertens won Doha ranked outside the Top 20. Who is the lowest ranked winner in Doha's history? Multiple answers accepted.

A.Elise Mertens
B.Anastasia Myskina
C.Lucie Safarova
D.Simona Halep
E.Petra Kvitova


Premier 5 means more Up/Down Side.




Answer!
(B)Myskina is wrong, but the two time winner was the only winner outside of the Top 10 in the first 11 years of the event. The winner in 2003 and 04, she then went on the win the French in 2004, after winning Doha ranked 11.

It is not (D)Halep, although the 10th ranked player won in 2014, then reached the French Open final.

If you are seeing a theme here, you are correct, as (C)Safarova is wrong, but is another player who won the title(2015), then reached the French Open final. Wrong because she was 15th.

Is that my way of saying that (A)Mertens is now a darkhorse for the French? Yes. Interestingly enough, her being ranked 21 ties her for the lowest winner, who was (E)Kvitova just last year, making it 4 out of the last 5 years, including 11th ranked Suarez Navarro in 2016, to have come from outside the Top 10.


Sun Feb 17, 08:53:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side.

1.Kontaveit- Dubai pick is slowly rounding into shape. Already having reached a P5 final(Wuhan), the inside out forehand is starting to do damage, plus she is 5-5 in her last 10 matches vs the Top 10.
2.Vondrousova- Not really sold on anybody dominating in Budapest, so why not go with her? Unbalanced draw has a section with no qualies, then one with 4.
3.Muchova- Entered the USO last year at 202. Is 103 now because of a 15-5 run, in which her only losses have been to Fett(WO), Potapova, Barty, Svitolina, Pliskova. Has a Kasatkina like forehand, but the backhand is the money shot. She's got a BIG future.
4.Giorgi-The new Kuznetsova. Pliskova actually admitted earlier this year that when she plays Giorgi, the match is on Giorgi's racket. But like Sveta, she could play at a level higher than Serena for 6-7 games and still lose, Giorgi is starting to do that. Both the Pliskova and Bertens matches showed the insane level she can reach. Would love to see Bajin here, though the rumors say Danilovic.
5.Bertens- Still closing on that Top 5. Has actually gotten to a point in her career where a QF on hard is a disappointment. How good is that?

Sun Feb 17, 09:04:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Jabeur- Yes, I wanted to say something good this week. But the truth is that she is off to a slow start, only being 4-5 on the season. This is actually better that the end of 17, start of 18 when she went 1-11, getting her only win before April in Dubai, when she beat Al-Nabhani. Jabeur was struggling so much that she actually dropped a set to Fatma, only the 3rd set won in 26 matches.
2.Ostapenko- Tempted to put Halep here, because of this writing, she is still in Dubai, after Fed Cup and Doha. But Ostapenko is on here because she is one of only two Top 100 players to have played every week this season, plus Fed Cup. Tomljanovic didn't play Fed Cup, so she would be on this list. Shenzhen, Sydney, Australian Open, St Petersburg, Fed Cup, Doha, Dubai, is what she is doing, and may burn herself out. And I can't make this up, but her doubles partner in Dubai is....
3.Siniakova- The other Top 100 player. The only difference is that she played Brisbane instead of Shenzhen. Even with both struggling in singles, they are getting deep in doubles draws. Both need to be careful.
4.Muguruza- Was on here because she has a bad matchup against Yastremska. She won, but unlike the old Murray/Stephens combo, Muguruza/Sumyk didn't seem to have the correct gameplan. They repeatedly went to Yastremska's forehand, which is her best shot. Got lucky because Yastremska's W/UE count was 15/56. Muguruza won going 14/47.
5.Sharapova-Already out of Indian Wells. Miami is making a big deal about the Top 75 all committing to them, but is Maria really going to come back for one event on hard before clay season? Doesn't really make much sense, so we may not see her until Stuttgart.

Sun Feb 17, 09:19:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I'd buy in on Kasatkina (soon, at least), but not Mladenovic.

Quiz: I went with Safarova. :(

Hmmm, Bajin/Danilovic would be interesting. And success might mean more to her than "having fun" every minute of every day, too.

The travel might get Alona but (so far, at least) too much match play won't. She's kind of pulling the opposite of what Mertens did last year -- play all the time *and* win quite a lot almost every time out.

Muguruza/Sumyk is another example (and the strange one, too) from last week as far as a combination that has lasted a while now. And it's hard to believe it has, considering both seem annoyed by one another so often during matches *and* she won her last slam (in a more clear-minded fashion, no less) when he *wasn't* there at all. The longevity there is really defying the odds, possibly of reason as much as anything.

Sun Feb 17, 11:39:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

"I'd buy in on Kasatkina (soon, at least), but not Mladenovic."

Hmmm, they both have had an interesting week, which is why I am posting so soon.

Obviously, Osaka makes headlines win or lose, but instead of being the first time slam winner promptly losing her next match, she did that after the second slam. Add that to losing her first match as #1 and you have a headline heading into Indian Wells.

The twist is that you have IW as Osakas's first title defense, with or without a coach. This makes IW a crapshoot, as last year's runner up(Kasatkina) just split with her coach. Within the last year, so did the 2 SF(Halep/V.Williams), plus 2 QF Kerber/Pliskova. The other 2 were Suarez Navarro, who switched her coach in 2017, and Martic.

Thu Feb 21, 09:10:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yeah, I think Kasatkina will be find once the clay season gets here. But she's now got a history of poor starts to seasons, and needs to address that come 2019-20. Last year she got it turned by Indian Wells (making the final), but it may take a while longer this time. Maybe the coaching switch is an early addressing.

As far as Mladenovic, it was good to get the Osaka win. But, really, watching it, if she hadn't won that one it'd been one of the worst losses of her career because a #1 victory was basically being handed to her and she still allowed Osaka multiple chances to get back into the match. Ultimately, she held just enough times to win, but I don't view the week as a turning point for her season. Maybe a stepping stone to a turning point...

Yes, the Tennis Channel announcers were focusing on it being Osaka's first match after being #1, but like you said it was after her SECOND slam so I think that's inconsequential. Her first match after a coaching change was the story. And not like with some players who switch when things were reasonably well (say, Pliskova) but not quite "right." She switched after a year of the greatest results of her (and that of many others) career, before which she'd had none. It's not a #1 pressure situation, it's now an enhanced scrutiny that is totally created by her own doing. Indian Wells *will* be interesting.

Thu Feb 21, 11:49:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

My Osaka jury is still out; I continue to believe that a lack of emotional maturity is at play here (Petra has her back, but—as you say—it’s not like she just won her first major, she’s won two.) They don’t make ‘em like Chris Evert anymore.

Thu Feb 21, 11:55:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yeah, up until now she's pretty much been treated with kid gloves (no pun intended) by everyone, who really couldn't pick at too much that went on between the lines over the past year. If things turn a bit now, she's going to really be taken aback (though she *has* been pressed in the past about cultural things in Japan, so maybe she'll use that experience to her benefit) considering she seemed to be offended that people wondered if money was an issue in Sascha's departure. Fact is, it was a more than valid hypothesis for people trying to come up with a reason/excuse for letting go a coach after a career-best year-long stretch just weeks after (and before she'd even played another match since) winning a slam and becoming #1.

True on Evert. Though maybe Graf came the closest, at least as far as temperament.

Thu Feb 21, 07:22:00 PM EST  

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