Monday, March 18, 2019

Wk.11- Bibi, Saint of the Desert

Who needs St.Patrick when you've got St.Bibi (aka Bianca Andreescu)?



The Indian Wells event doubles as what has been dubbed "Tennis Paradise." It was something that the 18-year old took to heart over the last two weeks. Arriving as a fully formed being of desire equipped with a zeal and capacity for history-making accomplishment, the Canadian with deep Romanian roots answered her desert calling like a saint performing a required miracle by walking off with one of the sport's biggest titles (literally her *first* ever on tour) on St.Patrick's Day Sunday. But was it really a "miracle" that just took place in the desert?

In a word: no.

After all, Andreescu has been on the cusp of *something* for ages. Her past already included a banner junior career in which she won the under-16 title at the Orange Bowl at age 14, and a year later took the under-18 championship to become the first to win the titles in back-to-back seasons in thirty years. Despite battling through numerous injuries, she was the girls #3 and reached the junior U.S. Open semis in '16, then claimed two junior slam doubles crowns in '17. Later that year, she reached a tour-level QF, became the first player born in the 2000's to beat a Top 20 player and played in a WTA doubles final. Fed Cup success and several other highlights followed, but injuries (back) again slowed her progress in 2018 until she finally found a healthy groove in the calendar's final months, ending on an 18-3 run and winning two challenger titles. She carried over her success into 2019, reaching the Auckland final in Week 1 (def. V.Williams and Wozniacki), recording her first slam MD win in Melbourne, leading Canada to a Fed Cup WG II win on the road in the Netherlands and reaching a semi in Acapulco.

But forget the statistical accomplishments. She's most impressive when you see her in action.

Andreescu has *all* the skills and shots. Of course, a lot of young players (though maybe not at 18) have quite a few of them at *their* disposal, too. But what's most impressive (and important) is that the Canadian knows when to hit them, and in what sequence to best utilize each one in relation to another in order to keep an opponent on her heels. With her array of blistering power, deft touch, aggressive variety, defense, a good serve (first and second), no fear, a little stick-it-in-your-eye-streak during matches, guts and guile, as well as an admirable confidence and lack of inhibition when it comes to expressing either, is it any wonder that no less than Simona Halep (one of her idols), after hitting with her in Quebec City a few years ago, urged her to go pro because she had the goods to be a success on tour?

Ah, another "Si-mo-na!" moment.

Only her health has really held her back. But that's all changed since her return from a back injury last fall. Andreescu played with a nagging hip ailment in early '19, but still managed to post her best career results. She seems less bothered by lingering issues now, but the toll her game takes on her body still leaves her on a razor's edge between primed and tired, while also sometimes dealing with cramps and/or shoulder soreness and stressed leg muscles. Not that any of that has held her back. In fact, it's helped to cement the early "legend" of her young career, that which casts her in the role of the fighter with a full cache of weapons who wants success "SO BAD!" and has the ability to seize it with *both* her will and skill.

But, still, even while sporting a 21-3 season mark at the start of play in Indian Wells (and with a 39-6 stretch since last year's U.S. Open), Andreescu continuing to carve out a defined career path by making her tournament and Premier Mandatory debut one for the record books was yet another eye-opening occurrence in what has already been a dream season that even the teenager's creative visualization meditation (in which she visualizes her goals, such as "make history") might have been stretching to create in her mind's eye two short weeks ago.

So the desert proved to be Andreescu's true proving ground (until a few bigger ones come along), and now the legitimate birthplace of whatever comes next on her journey. Down went the likes of Irina-Camelia Begu, Dominika Cibulkova and Stefanie Voegele. Then the Top 20 players -- Wang Qiang and Garbine Muguruza -- came and went. #6 Elina Svitolina was dispatched in the semis with a display of late-match guts that made Andreescu the youngest I.W. finalist in a two decades, setting up a big stage championship match against three-time slam champ and former #1 Angelique Kerber, the current world #8.

In the latest "match of her career" in one that could ultimately have quite a few, Andreescu opened things with a break of Kerber's serve. The lead held up and she took the set 6-4.



The German finally got her first break point chance of the match in game #4 of the 2nd set, taking a 3-1 lead. Andreescu threatened to make a set of it late, holding in an eight-minute game to force Kerber to serve out the stanza at 5-3. She did, and the match went to a 3rd set.



And what a 3rd set it was. Both women brought out the best in the other (as it should be), and the teenager proved her mettle, desire and ability to lift her game amid a maelstrom of difficulties that might have ushered those of lesser grit off the stage.



It was Kerber, though, who grabbed the early lead, breaking for a 3-2 lead. With Andreescu seeming to tire, and the German's experience taking hold, the tide appeared to have turned. Maybe for the last time. Then this happened...



In the changeover with coach Sylvain Bruneau, Andreescu acknowledged all that was stacked against her as she was hurting, would soon start cramping, and Kerber had lifted her game to a level that had allowed her to wrestle away control of the proceedings, matching Andreescu's defense and pushing her deeper into the backcourt, robbing her of the time to launch many of her varied attacks. But...

"I want this so bad!"



On ESPN, as they had all day, the commentators searched for reasons why Andreescu likely *wouldn't* win: Kerber's experience, Andreescu's lack of it, as well as her body wearing down and the pressure surely about to be too much for a title-less teen to handle.

Bibi was having none of it, though.



What followed instead were two huge games, with a handful of gigantic shots, from the Canadian. She immediately broke back, then held at love. Cramping, she nonetheless continued to pound the ball at Kerber. She broke the veteran's serve for a 5-3 lead. Serving for the match, Andreescu continued to fire winners and reached double MP. Kerber saved both, and on #3 raced to one of the teenager's expert drop shots and scooted it cleaning into the corner, then turned around and walked back to the baseline with a wry smile and shake of her head at the audacity of it all.

When Andreescu finally failed to convert on a drop shot attempt, Kerber got the break to close to 5-4. Was the momentum about to turn in the German's favor again?

But rather than look for a way to escape, or reasons to give up the moment, the Canadian dug down once more and brought it home. A huge forehand winner made it 30/40 on Kerber's serve. On Andreescu's fourth MP, Kerber netted a backhand and Indian Wells had yet *another* unexpected champion.



Andreeescu's 6-4/3-6/6-4 win made her the second straight winner in the desert to have her maiden tour title be of the Premier Mandatory variety at Indian Wells. Even with her penchant for drop shots and lobs, the teenager's winner total (44) for the day was dominated by big shots coming from her forehand (37 -- 19 in the 3rd set alone). She's the tournament's fourth unseeded champ, the first wild card to win, as well as the fourth youngest (and youngest since a 17-year old Serena Williams in 1999) and the tour's lowest-ranked (#60) Premier Mandatory champion.

Having won four of five games after Bruneau's visit and the assertion of her insatiable desire to win amid mounting reasons why she couldn't, Andreescu kissed the court and rolled over onto her back. For a long moment she remained spread eagle on the hard court surface, staring into the sky, soaking it all in. The only thing left was to make a "snow angel" under the sun. But she never did. Ah, well. There's always next time.



Having ended 2018 at #178, and been #152 in Week 1 of '19, Andreescu rises from #60 to #24 this week. No one shot wonder during a match, the tennis world should continue to open wide for her as the season progresses (example: world #1 and now two-time slam champ Naomi Osaka was #44 when she was I.W. in '18) as long as her longtime injury issues don't jump up to bite her yet again. Her weapons are numerous, just like her thoughtfulness when it comes to using them. They'll continue to serve her well.

Now, of course, comes the next phase. It could be that Andreescu is prepared for that, as well.



But, still, allow Bibi a moment to dream...



Or is it to simply map out her next move?

Time will soon tell.



Hmmm, what am I missing? Oh, yeah. The hair tie.

In the process of three months of making her dreams come true, Andreescu has also managed to stumble upon a "trademark look" -- the hair tie oddly placed on her bicep. At it turned out, it was a happy accident. After practicing while wearing it on her wrist, only to have it continually fall off, she moved it farther up her arm, and liked the look of it. Viola! A *thing* was born.




As things stand, the inadvertant calling card -- how long before she's designing her own line of hair ties? -- will likely linger as a memorable -- though not as lethal -- reminder of what she did in the desert as the variety-filled game that has proven in 2019's first three months that it can out-hit, out-last, out-scramble, out-think, out-touch and out-tough the vast majority of what the rest of the tour has to offer.

Not bad for an 18-year old. And she may only be scratching the surface.




*WEEK 11 CHAMPIONS*
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (Premier Mandatory/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Bianca Andreescu/CAN def. Angelique Kerber/GER 6-4/3-6/6-4
D: Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka (BEL/BLR) def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) 6-3/6-2



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bianca Andreescu/CAN
...permit me a section to crow. Just a little. But, you know, hang my head in shame at the same time.


I guess it's always been there. The Backspin "line of succession," I mean. Justine "La Petit Taureau" Henin was idolized by Simona "Heart of Backspin" Halep, who was idolized by (Saint Bibi of) Andreescu. It's sort of been the elephant in the room -- draped in Belgian, Romanian and Canadian flags -- all along.

All week, tournament, month and season there have been public queries about where Andreescu came from, and whether anyone saw her coming before she suddenly arrived. Well, yeah. Sorta kinda, anyway. As I've noted other times this season, she's no stranger in these parts. I've been talking about her glowingly (or at least hopefully) for years. Since at least 2015. Truth is, anyone who'd managed to see the Canadian or follow her pre-2019 career shouldn't have been able to avoid being somewhat intrigued by the possibility. The heart and mind have always been evident between the lines (and we've seen what confidence has done to the level of her all-court game), it was just the body that stubbornly failed to follow in lock step. Even when she flashed success and potential (such as fully challenging a top player even while being physically hampered), nagging injuries often prevented Andreescu from completing a potentially huge victory, or effectively building one success upon another as she's done this season while blessed with (relative) health. Even so, with a relatively minuscule sample size, she'd already taken a few turns in the Fed Cup spotlight, and been a WTA Breakthrough of the Month winner *before* this season, and (in case you've forgotten) was also the player who provided the push (in Washington, he says with a wink, where she reached her first QF) that started Kiki Mladenovic down her long, dark losing streak path with an upset in the summer of '17 when the Pastry was a Top 20 player soon to be ranked in the Top 10.

At any rate, the start-and-stop nature of the teenager's early efforts still always caused seemingly "stepping out" predictions in January...

2016: Junior to Watch nominee
2017: Junior to Watch nominee
2018: Most Improved Player candidate, Surprise Player candidate, first-time WTA finalist, CAN #1, Top 50
2019: Most Improved Player candidate, first-time WTA SF, CAN #1, Top 100, $100K and WTA 125 champion

...to be given a slightly more conservative bent at the eleventh hour (yes, Mr.Stupid, go ahead and change that '19 prediction of a maiden tour final/title and slam Round of 16 result right before posting). Even after all she'd done in the season's first two months, Andreescu continued to defy believed "good vibes" picks in the desert. I picked her to reach the Round of 16 as a wild card, but thought going any further (really, a QF in her first PM? Come on, she had to wake up at some point, right?) might be more wishing-and-hoping stuff than sound prognostication. Oh me of "little faith."


But, as she's done all year, Andreescu laughed in the face of such restraint. As she said with a hint of crazy in her heart on Sunday, she's "the f-ing Indian Wells champion!"

Imagine that.



So, does this mean the Sunshine Double is about to be accomplished? Oh, come on. That can't happen, right? I mean, she's human, after all. Let's not go nuts.

Famous last words in the time of The Saint, one might think. So...



After years of having Andreescu occupy Backspin's "You know, she's good. If only..." role, I guess I'll now need to find a new seedling to taunt.
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RISERS: Belinda Bencic/SUI and Mona Barthel/GER
...for a while in Indian Wells, it looked as if Bencic might carry over her desert title run in Dubai with another in California. The Swiss stretched her winning streak to a WTA season-best twelve matches with victories over Alison Van Uytvanck, Ekaterina Alexandrova, defending champ Naomi Osaka (her second career #1 win) and Karolina Pliskova (giving her six Top 10 wins in her dozen-match streak). She finally ran out of gas against a top-flight version of Angelique Kerber in the semis, but her won/loss record rivals that of Andreescu over roughly the same period of time. 18-4 on the season, Bencic is 34-7 since mid-October, a run of post-injury consistency that started directly after a six-match losing streak.



All in all, though things didn't end the way she'd hopes, Bencic's follow-up success to her title run proves that she *is* definitely back. She was even serenaded by the I.W. crowd at one point. All is good.



#97 Barthel was knocked out of Indian Wells in the Round of 16 by Venus Williams, but only after the German had put together a performance at her first tour-level event with multiple wins since last September (Tashkent SF), one included her first Top 20 victory since June. In fact, the 28-year old had two -- over Madison Keys and countrywoman Julia Goerges. It's something she hadn't done since defeating three -- Roberta Vinci, Marion Bartoli and Sara Errani -- en route to winning the Paris Indoors crown in 2013, the same season she reached a career high of #23 about a month later.


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SURPRISES: Renata Zarazua/MEX and Marie Bouzkova/CZE
...Backspin is perpetually always on the lookout for a groundbreaking player from Mexico. In general, the search continues to be inconclusive, but the woman who stepped up this week in the WTA 125 in Guadalajara (a new site in the now three-event "Queen of Mexico" competition this year along with the tournaments in Acapulco and Monterrey) was Zarazua. The 21-year old, a two-time career ITF title winner and the nation's highest-ranked player at #257 (she's already posted '19 wins over the likes of Rebecca Marino and Madison Brengle), was given a wild card into the MD and made the most of it, getting wins over Fanny Stollar and Sara Errani to reach the QF. She also reached the doubles semis with Jacqueline Cako, defeating the #3 seeds (Guarachi/Santamaria) before losing in a 3rd set match TB to Lister/Voracova.



For what it's worth, the money in these parts remains tentatively on Giuliana Olmos as the current Mexican player most likely to put up a truly noteworthy result. So far, her best tennis has come in doubles, including tour-level finals the last two years in Monterrey and Acapulco. Still, who knows? Maybe she'll take a shot at *finally* becoming the woman from Mexico to (likely go through qualifying and) reach a slam singles MD who'll thereby allow me to check that now annual Prediction Blowout flier off the list.

Also in Guadalajara, 20-year old Czech Bouzkova reached her biggest career final (she's 11-4 in ITF finals) with wins over Lara Arruabarrena, Vitalia Diatchenko, Zarazua and Fiona Ferro before losing to Veronikova Kudermetova. Already with one great week in '19 -- a Week 1 qualifying run and 2nd Round finish in Sydney that included wins over Marta Kostyuk, Viktorija Golubic and Sam Stosur -- Bouzkova was ranked #130 at the start of the week. She'll now rise to a new career high of #116.


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VETERANS: Angelique Kerber/GER and Venus Williams/USA
...we'll see over the course of the rest of '19 just how disappointed Kerber should be about being unable to outlast Andreescu in the Indian Wells finals (barring injury, she may feel fine that she got as close as she did). But, make no mistake, Angie had a good time in the desert.

Kerber's recent three-set defeats (vs. Mertens and Hsieh), as well as her stunning dispatching by Danielle Collins at the AO, had caused at least half an eye to be raisid about the German's current staying power until further notice. In the desert, she was often once again made to go the distance, but with better results than in recent outings. After a love & 2 defeat of Yulia Putintseva, Kerber had to rally from a set down vs. qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva, then went three against Aryna Sabalenka (overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the decider). Having regained her stride, she took out Venus Williams and Belinda Bencic in straights, the latter being an expert deconstruction of a player who was riding a 12-match winning streak, to reach what was her first career Premier Mandatory final. She had opportunities in that final against Andreescu, only to become the latest Top 10 (all three she's faced, actually) to be unable to figure out the varied game and wear down the strong nerves of the teenager. Still, Indian Wells provided Kerber with her first appearance in a final since she won Wimbledon last summer and the first event in which she won multiple three-setters since her title run in Sydney in January of last year.



Williams hadn't reached a semifinal since her final four run at Indian Wells a year ago. She still hasn't, but the 38-year old's QF run in the desert still proved that, in her own past words, "This old cat has a few tricks left." Still.

After struggling to a three-set win over Andrea Petkovic, Venus came back from a set and two breaks down (then a break in the 3rd) vs. Petra Kvitova to get her first Top 10 win since recording three on her way to the WTAF final in 2017. Straight sets wins over Christina McHale and Mona Barthel followed before she was finally knocked out by Kerber. While her QF result prevented a truly major fall in the rankings, Williams will still slip seven spots to #43.
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COMEBACKS: Garbine Muguruza/ESP and Louisa Chirico/USA
...Muguruza's Indian Wells run ultimately crashed out in cover-your-eyes fashion in the QF vs. Andreescu with her winning just one game off the Canadian (and that was with an eleventh hour save to avoid a double-bagel), but that doesn't eradicate what was one of her most productive weeks in a while. After opening with a victory over Lauren Davis, Muguruza outlasted Serena Williams, who retired in the 2nd set with a viral illness. The Spaniard followed up with another Top 10 win (career #31) over Kiki Bertens, making this her first multi-Top 10 victory event in over a year and a half. The last came in the summer of '17 when she defeated three, including then #1 Pliskova and #2 Halep, en route to the Cincinnati title.

In Sao Paulo, it was a blast from the near past as Chirico -- three years ago a Top 60 player, Madrid Premier Mandatory semifinalist as a qualifier and 1st Round slam victor (for the only time at a major) at Roland Garros -- won her first title since taking a $50K in 2015. Now 22, Chirico ended '16 at #68, then fell to #211 and #451 the last two years, slipping outside the Top 500 at one point. Chirico hadn't reached a SF since September '17 (in a $100K), after which she'd gone 3-12, then had a pair of six-match losing streaks soon afterward.

Ranked #380 heading into Brazil, Chirico had already had some minor success this season, reaching a $25K QF in January (her best in sixteen months), posting a win over Caty McNally. This week, she qualified and took down Daniela Seguel and Veronica Cepede Royg before defeating Danka Kovinic 6-0/6-2 in the final.


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FRESH FACES: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE, Veronika Kudermetova/RUS and Viktoriia Dema/UKR
...Vondrousova wasn't *the* headline-grabbing teenager in Indian Wells, but the 19-year old Czech surely had her moments in the desert. Quite a few of them, in fact. With each one topping the one that came before.

Arriving off her recent Budapest final appearance, her first on tour since winning in Biel in April '17, Vondrousova opened with a victory over Laura Siegemund. She then upped the stakes considerably, round by round, by taking out '18 finalist Dasha Kasatkina (dropping just three games), former slam winner Alona Ostapenko with a strong 3rd set finish, then Simona Halep in three to record her first career Top 10 win and reach the quarterfinals, where she fell to Elina Svitolina in another three setter.



In Week 10's WTA 125 event in Guadalajara, Mexico it was Kudermetova who claimed the biggest title of her career. The 21-year old Hordette was forced to go three sets in her first three outings, defeating Katarina Zavatska, Sofya Zhuk and Kristyna Pliskova to reach the semis. She only lost six games the rest of the way, defeating Tatjana Maria 2 & 2 and Marie Bouzkova 2 & 0 in the final. The win makes the Russian the all-time WTA 125 champion, as with her four previous doubles titles she's won five overall titles in her career, most than any other player. Kudermatova will jump from #100 to a new career high of #72 in the new rankings, and is now 15-5 on the season.



Meanwhile, 18-year old Ukrainian Dema won the $15K in Antalya, Turkey by defeating still another teen achiever from Ukraine, 19-year old Maryna Chernyshova. Chernyshova had been going for a circuit-leading third ITF title of the season (and third in a row), but instead Dema tied her with her own #2. Unseeded, Dema defeated the #1 seed (Gaia Sanesi/QF) and #5 seeds before taking down #4 Chernyshova in three sets in the final.


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DOWN: Julia Goerges/GER
...#15 Goerges fell in three sets to countrywoman Mona Barthel in the 3rd Round at Indian Wells. The loss drops Goerges to 4-5 since she successfully defended her Auckland title in Week 1. Her previous losses have come at the hands of Danielle Collins (AO 1st), Vera Zvonareva (Saint Petersburg 2nd), Simona Halep (Doha QF) and Alison Riske (Dubai 1st).

But, at the end of the weekend, I suppose Goerges can maybe still salvage a *hint* of satisfaction. After all, *she's* the one German who's managed to defeat Andreescu in a tour singles final this season, outlasting the Canadian in three sets in Auckland, something that Kerber wasn't able to do in Indian Wells on Sunday.

Hey, it's *something*.
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ITF PLAYERS: Clara Tauson/DEN and Elena Rybakina/KAZ
...16-year old Tauson picked up her biggest career title at the $60K in Shenzhen, claiming her second straight (and third career, with the previous two being $15K crowns) this season. Wins over Liang En-shuo, Magdalena Frech (#7 seed), Lu Jiajing (#8) and Liu Fangzhou (#6) in a 6-4/6-3 final. The run gives her ten straight wins in pro events to go along with her 22-0 run (including this year's girls AO title) in the juniors that goes back to her three-set U.S. Open loss to Dasha Lopatetska. Tauson's only two losses since last October came last month in Fed Cup play, to Iga Swiatek and Natalia Vikhlyantseva.

She earned her match-ending roar...


Meanwhile, Rybakina picked up her third '19 title -- and second straight -- at the $25K in Kazan, Russia. The Kazakh has gone a combined 21-2 in WS/WD since the last week of January, winning a total of four overall titles (3s/1d). Her final win this weekend came against Urszula Radwanska, now 28. The Pole was going for her second title in 2019 after having not won any since 2012.
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JUNIOR STARS: Dasha Lopatetska/UKR and Joanna Garland/TPE
...the sudden depth of Ukrainian women's tennis was highlighted once again this week as two teens -- Lopatetska and Dema -- continued to shine on the challenger circuit. I've already talked about Dema, so...

Girls #27 Lopatetska, just 15 but already set to enter the Top 300, matched Elena Rybakina this weekend by becoming the second of two three-time ITF singles title champ in 2019, taking the crown at the $25K in Nishitama, Japan. Lopatetska, who famously won the first two pro events of her career in '18 (and reached the SF in her third) and then opening '19 with thirteen straight victories, concluded this week with a three-set win in the final over Brit Gabriella Taylor. The Ukrainian's title run ended her first career bad stretch, as she'd recently lost two of three matches at two other Japanese challenger events.

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17-year old Garland (jr.#30) won her first career Grade 1 crown at the Sarawak Minister's Cup in Malaysia. The 2017 Orange Bowl semifinalist and '18 Roland Garros quarterfinalist swept through the week without losing a set, defeating 13-year old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova 6-3/7-5 in the final.
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DOUBLES: Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
...in just their second event together, Mertens/Sabalenka were as big of a duo of giant killers in their own right as Andreescu was on the singles side in Indian Wells. They opened with a 10-8 match TB win over #2-seeded Babos/Mladenovic, then won another over Atawo/Srebotnik 11-9. A win over Christian/Muhammad preceded two more Top 5 wins, over #5 Dabrowski/Xu in the semis and then #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova by a 6-3/6-2 score in the final. This is the second straight year the WD title has been claimed by an unseeded, new and/or temporary duo, as Mertens/Sabalenka follow on the heels of Hsieh/Strycova's win a year ago. Unseeded Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe won in '16. For Sabalenka, this is her maiden tour double title, while Mertens now has seven with four different partners (4-Schuurs, 1-Flipkens, 1-Mestach).


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WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
...playing in her first event since sweeping the Australian Open titles, world #1 de Groot journeyed to the U.S. this week and returned on a winning note, taking the Series 1 Georgia Open in Rome. As is often the case with the 22-year old Dutch, de Groot didn't lose a set all week, posting wins over Charlotte Famin, Katharina Kruger, Marjolein Buis and Aniek Van Koot (her AO-winning WD partner) in a 6-3/7-5 final.

The week makes de Groot 18-1 since the start of last year's U.S. Open, with her only loss coming in the pre-AO Melbourne Open to Yui Kamiji despite having held five MP. Since her loss to Kamiji in the final of last year's Roland Garros (the only major title not yet won by de Groot), she's gone 30-2. Her 12-month singles mark currently stands at 40-4, and 47-4 back to the start of last year's AO. Not the awe-inspiring decade-long command of the sport of countrywoman Esther Vergeer, but surely a dominant stretch.
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[I.W. 3rd Rd. to Final]


1. IW Final - Bianca Andreescu def. Angelique Kerber
...6-4/3-6/6-4. One could likely write an interesting comparative study regarding Andreescu's composed, cover-all-the-bases acceptance speech and the one given last year by Naomi Osaka, don't you think?


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2. IW SF - Bianca Andreescu def. Elina Svitolina
...6-3/2-6/6-4. As if she hadn't already (and wouldn't up the stakes again a match later), Andreescu "came of age" against the world #6.

After Svitolina went up a double-break at 3-0 in the 1st, the teenager swept the final six games to claim the set. Up a break early in the 3rd, leading 3-1, Andreescu seemed to be set to become another of the Ukrainian's three-set victims in the desert as Svitolina surged back and got things on serve at 3-3. But the Canadian immediately broke back a game later, then held from love/40 to take a 5-3 lead. Andreescu nearly closed out Svitolina a game later, erasing a 40/15 scoreline and holding a MP. Svitolina finally held on her fourth GP, as Andreescu began to cramp and the clock seemed to be ticking on how long she might be able to hold on.

Serving for the match, Andreescu fell behind 15/40. But again she remained calm and battled her way back, holding two more MP before denying Svitolina's third BP of the game (she was 1-for-10 in the set). Finally, as the game reached the 10-minute mark, the 18-year old won on her fourth MP to reach her biggest career final in her debut Premier Mandatory event, attaining her goal to "make history" by becoming the youngest I.W. finalist since a 17-year old Serena Williams in 1999. As it turned out, she was hardly finished.

Meanwhile, Svitolina found a three-setter she couldn't put away in the desert (she'd already won three) though it was later revealed that she'd played with an inflammed knee the entire tournament. The loss dropped her to 0-3 in '19 semis (her last three events). The last time in which Svitolina went this long into a season before reaching her first final was 2015.



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3. IW 4th Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-1/4-6/6-4. A signature win for the German, who'd arrived in the desert just 3-3 in her last six, a stretch initiated by her shocking love & 2 loss to Danielle Collins in Melbourne and including other "tailing off" 3rd set defeats vs. Elise Mertens (6-1) and Hsieh Su-wei (at love). Kerber had been up a set and 2-0 before Sabalenka forced a 3rd, then trailed the Belarusian 4-1 in the 3rd before rallying like the the old "Fightin' Angie" of previously sterling vintage.


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4. IW 4th Rd. - Marketa Vondrousova def. Simona Halep
...6-2/3-6/6-2. Another of the PDQ adds a maiden Top 10 win to her career resume. The first of many, no doubt.
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5. IW 4th Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Ash Barty 7-5/5-7/6-4
IW QF - Elina Svitolina def. Marketa Vondrousova 4-6/6-4/6-4
...Svitolina's three-set wins over Barty (at 3:11, the longest match of 2019 thus far) and Vondrousova (she was down a break in the 3rd after DF'ing on BP, then won four of five games to finish off the Czech) seemed signs that the Ukrainian's Singapore Swerve had returned. But then came Andreescu.
===============================================


6. IW QF - Bianca Andreescu def. Garbine Muguruza
...6-0/6-1. The Canadian played a near perfect match, but sometimes Muguruza contributes to these sort of scorelines. You know the sort of matches. The Spaniard gets down early and then seems to willingly forget how to tennis. She even has to be reminded to perform fundamental tasks like swing through shots. Yet Sam Sumyk remains. It's still odd that in an WTA landscape overloaded with coaching splits *after* career/comeback years that the two remain together despite on-court spats/tantrums and visible consternation from Sumyk over Muguruza's oft-blatant ignoring of his coaching, and his inability to truly assist in such matches before they turn into love and 1 defeats. AND that's not even counting the fact that some of Muguruza's best and most focused, stable and consistent stretches have come when Sumyk was nowhere to be found, as during her Wimbledon title run in '17 when Conchita Martinez stepped in which he was dealing with family issues.

If it's loyalty that allows the set-up to persist, I suppose that's admirable, though. I guess.
===============================================
7. Guadalajara 125 SF - Maria Sanchez/Fanny Stollar def. Miyu Kato/Makota Ninomiya
...6-3/7-5. Kato/Ninomiya had been on a 1-6 slide starting with their Sydney SF result in January. But 1st Round and QF Match TB wins in Mexico pulled them out of their tailspin. They still fell to eventual champs Sanchez/Stollar, though.
===============================================
8. $15K Gonesse FRA Final - Eleonora Molinaro def. Rebeka Masarova
...6-2/2-6/6-4. Masarova had been for going for back-to-back titles, while Molinaro was a runner-up a week ago in Antalya.
===============================================
9. $15K Arcadia, Cal. USA Final - Hanna Chang def. Elli Mandlik
...7-5/6-1. Top -seeded 21-year old Bannerette Chang (#442) picked up her fourth pro title, denying 17-year old Mandlik her second in as many weeks. Mandlik had already defeated the tournament's #2 seed in the 2nd Round, and seen Hurricane Tyra Black retire from their QF match.
===============================================
10. $15K Tabarka TUN Final - Malene Helgø def. Daria Lodikova
...6-1/3-6/7-5. The 19-year old Norwegian is now 3-0 in career finals.


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







[I.W. 3rd Rd. to Final]
1. IW 4th Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. NAOMI OSAKA
...6-3/6-1. Bencic's second career #1 win ends Osaka's first career title defense and drops her to 2-2 since the AO.



Sister Mari (#336 with seven match wins in eight months, with four of those coming in a single challenger in October, since which she's won zero) is theoretically 1-for-1, though, even if her Miami Open wild card (courtesy of IMG, which reps Naomi) raises eyebrows about the tournament's own credibility.


===============================================
2. IW 3rd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. SERENA WILLIAMS
...6-3/1-0 ret. Serena led 3-0, then never won another game before ultimately retiring with a viral illness. It's Williams' first in-match retirement (Hopman Cup '16 doesn't count) since September '14 in Wuhan vs. Alize Cornet. Muguruza's victory knots their head-to-head at 3-3. This was the first time they've met somewhere other than in a major.


===============================================
3. Guadalajara Final - VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA def. Marie Bouzkova 6-2/6-0
Tashkent G2 Jr. Final - POLINA KUDERMETOVA def. Maria Timofeeva 7-6(8)/6-0
...it was a good week for the Kudermetova sisters. 15-year old Polina also picked up the doubles title with Timofeeva.


===============================================
4. IW 3rd Rd. - NAOMI OSAKA def. Danielle Collins
...6-4/6-2. Collins' defense of her 2018 IW 4th Rd./Miami SF stretch didn't begin very well.
===============================================
5. IW SF - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova def. CHAN HAO-CHING/LATISHA CHAN
...5-7/7-6(5) [10-6]. The Chans knocked off defending champs Hsieh/Strycova in the QF before falling to the #1 seeds. Still, they're 20-4 (RU-W-QF-W-SF-SF) together on the season after figuring out how to balance sisterhood and a doubles partnership.
===============================================


While someone was hate-Tweeting from the Oval Office about a dead war hero, TV re-runs, auto unions, etc. (but not mass murdering white supremacists and their ilk, mind you), back in the land of the sane and well-adjusted there were widespread words of support...












And, yes, even... (in case you were wondering, since I know I was)

















View this post on Instagram

@aradwanska i @stefanoterrazzino

A post shared by Taniec z Gwiazdami (@tanieczgwiazdami) on













Siniakova: "Umm, I don't know her..."









And, now, a ridiculous number of lists. It has to be a regular season weekly record.


*RECENT INDIAN WELLS FINALS...*
=WS=
2014 Flavia Pennetta d. Aga Radwanska
2015 Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic
2016 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2017 Elena Vesnina d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2018 Naomi Osaka d. Dasha Kasatkina
2019 Bianca Andreescu d. Angelique Kerber
=WD FINALS=
2013 Makarova/Vesnina d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Hsieh/Peng d. C.Black/Mirza
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina
2016 Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe d. Goerges/Ka.Pliskova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis d. Hradecka/Siniakova
2018 Hsieh/Strycova d. Makarova/Vesnina
2019 Mertens/Sabalenka d. Krejcikova/Siniakova

**INDIAN WELLS...**
[champions w/o slam titles]
1989 Manuela Maleeva - reached slam SF
1993/95 Mary Joe Fernandez (2) - reached slam final
2002/07 Daniela Hantuchova (2) - reached slam SF
2009 Vera Zvonareva - reached slam final
2010 Jelena Jankovic - reached slam final, ranked #1
2017 Elena Vesnina - reached slam SF, ranked WD #1
2019 BIANCA ANDREESCU
[finalists w/o slam final]
1989 Manuela Maleeva - reached slam SF
1989 Jenny Byrne
1993/94 Amanda Coetzer (2) - reached slam SF
1997 Irina Spirlea - reached slam SF
2002/07 Daniela Hantuchova - reached slam SF
2018 Dasha Kasatkina
2019 BIANCA ANDREESCU
[unseeded champions]
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN
[youngest champions]
17 - Martina Hingis (1998) - 17y,166d
17 - Serena Williams (1999) - 17y,169d
18 - Monica Seles (1992) - 18y,90d
18 - BIANCA ANDREESCU (2019) - 18y,274d

*ALL-TIME LOW-RANKED PREMIER or TIER I-II TITLISTS*
#201 - Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (Warsaw '09)
#133 - Kim Clijsters, BEL (Indian Wells '05)
#107 - Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (Sydney '14)
#85 - Alexandra Wozniak, CAN (Stanford '08)
#64 - Kim Jones-Shaeffer, USA (US Indoors '83)
#62 - Alona Bondarenko, UKR (Luxembourg '06)
#60 - BIANCA ANDEREESCU, CAN (INDIAN WELLS '19)

*ALL-TIME LOW-RANKED PREMIER MANDATORY FINALIST (since 2009)*
#60 - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN ('19 Indian Wells) = W
#44 - Naomi Osaka, JPN ('18 Indian Wells) = W
#38 - Dominika Cibulkova, SVK ('16 Madrid) = RU

*2019 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Hobart: Sonya Kenin, USA (20/#56) - def. Schmiedlova
Acapulco: Wang Yafan, CHN (24/#65) - def. Kenin
INDIAN WELLS: BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (18/#60) - def. Kerber
[125]
Newport Beach: Bianca Andreescu, CAN (18/#106) - def. Pegula
GUADALAJARA: VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA, RUS (21/#100) - def. Bouzkova
[WTA doubles]
Auckland: Genie Bouchard, CAN
Hobart: Sonya Kenin, USA
Budapest: Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
INDIAN WELLS: ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR
[Mixed]
Australian Open: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE

*ANDREESCU vs. TOP 20 in 2019*
WON (5): #3 Wozniacki, #6 Svitolina, #8 Kerber, #18 Q.Wang, #20 Muguruza
LOST(2): #12 Sevastova, #14 Goerges
--
vs.Top 10: 3-0

*2019 BIGGEST AGE DIFFERENCE IN FINAL*
13 years - ANDREESCU(18) def. KERBER(31) - INDIAN WELLS
12 years - Goerges(30) def. Andreescu(18) - Auckland
--
2016: 14 - Vinci(32) d. Bencic(18) - Saint Petersburg
2017: 14 - Muguruza(23) d. V.Williams(37) - Wimbledon
2018: 16 - Osaka(20) d. S.Williams(36) - U.S. Open

*TEENAGE WTA SINGLES CHAMPS - 2015-19*
[2015]
17 - Ana Konjuh, CRO (Nottingham)
18 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Eastbourne)
18 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Toronto)
[2016]
19 - Oceane Dodin, FRA (Quebec City)
[WTA 125: 17 - CiCi Bellis, USA = Honolulu]
[2017]
17 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (Biel)
19 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (Charleston)
[WTA 125: 19 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR = Mumbai]
[2018]
17 - Olga Danilovic SRB (Moscow MO)
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hong Kong)
[2019]
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
18 - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (INDIAN WELLS)

*YOUNGEST 2019 WTA FINALISTS*
[singles]
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Auckland-L)
18 - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (INDIAN WELLS-W)
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin-W)
19 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (Budapest-L)
20 - Sonya Kenin, USA (Hobart-W)
20 - Sonya Kenin, USA (Acapulco-L)
20 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Brisbane-W)
[125 singles]
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Newport Beach-W)
20 - MARIE BOUZKOVA, CZE (GUADALAJARA-L)
[doubles]
20 - Sonya Kenin, USA (Auckland-W)
20 - Anna Blinkova, RUS (Hua Hin-L)
20 - Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (Saint Petersburg-L)
20 - Fanny Stollar, HUN (Budapest-L)
20 - Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK (Saint Petersburg-L)
20 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (INDIAN WELLS-W)
[125 doubles]
20 - Ena Shibahara, USA (Newport Beach-W)
20 - FANNY STOLLAR, HUN (GUADALAJARA-W)

*2019 Q/LL/PR/UNSEEDED WC IN FINAL*
Auckland - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (18, #152, Q) - lost to Goerges
INDIAN WELLS - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (18, #60, WC) - def. Kerber
[lost in SF]
Shenzhen - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (34, #109, WC)
Sydney - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (24, #33, Q)
Saint Petersburg - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (34, #97, WC)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2019*
3...Petra Kvitova, CZE (1-2)
2...BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (1-1)
2...Sonya Kenin, USA (1-1)

*MOST WTA FINALS, 2015-19*
20 - 5/3/5/6/1 Halep, ROU (10-10)
17 - 5/8/1/2/1 KERBER, GER (9-8)
17 - 6/4/3/2/1 Ka.Pliskova, CZE (9-8)
17 - 3/2/8/4/0 Wozniacki, DEN (8-9)
16 - 4/3/1/5/3 Kvitova, CZE (12-4)
13 - 1/3/5/4/0 Svitolina, UKR (11-2)
13 - 5/5/1/2/0 S.Williams, USA (8-5)

*MOST WTA SF in 2019*
3...Petra Kvitova, CZE (3-0)
3...BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (2-1)
3...Donna Vekic, CRO (1-2)
3...ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (0-3)

*2019 WINS OVER #1*
Sydney 2nd Rd. - #15 Barty d. #1 Halep
Australian 4th Rd. - #16 S.Williams d. #1 Halep
DUbai 2nd Rd. - #67 Mladenovic d. #1 Osaka
INDIAN WELLS 4th RD. - #23 BENCIC d. #1 OSAKA

*2019 LONG WTA WIN STREAKS*
12 = BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (FEB/MAR: 10 WTA/2 FC) - lost to KERBER
11 = Petra Kvitova, CZE (JAN.) - lost to Osaka
10 = Karolina Pliskova, CZE (JAN.) - lost to Osaka

*2019 DEFEATED #1 SEED & DEFENDING CHAMPION, DIDN'T WIN TITLE*
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR - Brisbane [2r-Svitolina] = QF-lost to Vekic
Donna Vekic, CRO - Saint Petersburg [QF-Kvitova] = F - lost to Bertens
BELINDA BENCIC, SUI - INDIAN WELLS [4r-Osaka] = SF-lost to Kerber

*WON BOTH WTA & WTA 125 SINGLES TITLES IN CAREER (23)*
BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN
Lara Arruabarrena, ESP
Timea Babos, HUN
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Misaka Doi, JPN
Sara Errani, ITA
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Viktorija Golubic, SUI
Jelena Jankovic, SRB
Bojana Jovanovski, SRB
Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
Monica Niculescu, ROU
Shahar Peer, ISR
Peng Shuai, CHN
Kristyna Pliskova, CZE
Arnya Sabalenka, BLR
Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
Elina Svitolina, UKR
Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Wang Qiang, CHN
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
Zhang Shuai, CHN
[players with 125 WS/WD titles - most combined]
5 - VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA, RUS (1/4)
4 - Zheng Saisai, CHN (2/2)

*2019 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
3...Chan Hao-ching, TPE (2-1)
3...Latisha Chan, TPE (2-1)
2...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (1-1)
2...KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE (1-1)

*PLAYERS WITH WTA SINGLES & DOUBLES TITLES in 2019*
Sonya Kenin, USA = Hobart WS; Auckland WD
ELISE MERTENS, BEL = Doha WS; Indian Wells WD
ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR = Shenzhen WS; Indian Wells WD
--
2018: 10 players











*MIAMI OPEN FINALS*
=WS=
1985 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert 6–2, 6–4
1986 Chris Evert d. Steffi Graf 6–4, 6–2
1987 Steffi Graf d. Chris Evert 6–1, 6–2
1988 Steffi Graf d. Chris Evert 6–4, 6–4
1989 Gabriela Sabatini d. Chris Evert 6–1, 4–6, 6–2
1990 Monica Seles d. Judith Wiesner 6–1, 6–2
1991 Monica Seles d. Gabriela Sabatini 6–3, 7–5
1992 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario d. Gabriela Sabatini 6–1, 6–4
1993 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario d. Steffi Graf 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
1994 Steffi Graf d. Natasha Zvereva 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
1995 Steffi Graf d. Kimiko Date 6–1, 6–4
1996 Steffi Graf d. Chanda Rubin 6–1, 6–3
1997 Martina Hingis d. Monica Seles 6–2, 6–1
1998 Venus Williams d. Anna Kournikova 2–6, 6–4, 6–1
1999 Venus Williams d. Serena Williams 6–1, 4–6, 6–4
2000 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport 6–3, 6–2
2001 Venus Williams d. Jennifer Capriati 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(4)
2002 Serena Williams d. Jennifer Capriati 7–5, 7–6(4)
2003 Serena Williams d. Jennifer Capriati 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
2004 Serena Williams d. Elena Dementieva 6–1, 6–1
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Maria Sharapova 6–3, 7–5
2006 Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Maria Sharapova 6–4, 6–3
2007 Serena Williams d. Justine Henin 0–6, 7–5, 6–3
2008 Serena Williams d. Jelena Jankovic 6–1, 5–7, 6–3
2009 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams 6–3, 6–1
2010 Kim Clijsters d. Venus Williams 6–2, 6–1
2011 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–4
2012 Agnieszka Radwanska d. Maria Sharapova 7–5, 6–4
2013 Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova 4–6, 6–3, 6–0
2014 Serena Williams d. Li Na 7–5, 6–1
2015 Serena Williams d. Carla Suarez Navarro 6–2, 6–0
2016 Victoria Azarenka d. Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–2
2017 Johanna Konta d. Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–3
2018 Sloane Stephens d. Alona Ostapenko 7-6(5), 6-1
=WD=
1985 G.Fernandez/Navratilova d. Jordan/Mandlikova
1986 Shriver/Sukova d. Evert/Turnbull
1987 Navratilova/Shriver d. Kohde-Kilsch/Sukova
1988 Graf/Sabatini d. G.Fernandez/Garrison
1989 Novotna/Sukova d. G.Fernandez/McNeil
1990 Novotna/Sukova d. Nagelsen/White
1991 MJ.Fernandez/Garrison-Jackson d. G.Fernandez/Novotna
1992 Sanchez Vicario/Savchenko-Neiland d. Hetherington/Rinaldi
1993 Novotna/Savchenko Neiland d. Hetherington/Rinaldi
1994 G.Fernandez/Zvereva d. Fendick/McGrath
1995 Novotna/Sanchez Vicario d. G.Fernandez/Zvereva
1996 Novotna/Sanchez Vicario d. McGrath/Savchenko Neiland
1997 Sanchez Vicario/Zvereva d. Appelmans/Oremans
1998 Hingis/Novotna d. Sanchez Vicario/Zvereva
1999 Hingis/Novotna d. MJ.Fernandez/Seles
2000 Halard-Decugis/Sugiyama d. Arendt/Bollegraf
2001 Sanchez Vicario/Tauziat d. Raymond/Stubbs
2002 Raymond/Stubbs d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2003 Huber/Mag.Maleeva d. Asagoe/Miyagi
2004 Petrova/Shaughnessy d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva
2005 Kuznetsova/Molik d. Raymond/Stubbs
2006 Raymond/Stosur d. Huber/Navratilova
2007 Raymond/Stosur d. C.Black/Huber
2008 Srebotnik/Sugiyama d. C.Black/Huber
2009 Kuznetsova/Mauresmo d. Peschke/Raymond
2010 Dulko/Pennetta d. Petrova/Stosur
2011 Hantuchova/A.Radwanska d. Huber/Petrova
2012 Kirilenko/Petrova d. Errani/Vinci
2013 Petrova/Srebotnik d. Raymond/Robson
2014 Hingis/Lisicki d. Makarova/Vesnina
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina
2016 Mattek-Sands/Safarova d. Babos/Shvedova
2017 Dabrowski/Xu Yifan d. Mirza/Strycova
2018 Barty/Vandeweghe d. Krejcikova/Siniakova

*MIAMI FINALISTS NEVER TO SLAM FINAL*
1990 Judith Weisner, AUT
1995 Kimiko Date, JPN
1996 Chanda Rubin, USA
1998 Anna Kournikova, RUS
2015 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2017 Johanna Konta, GBR (W)

*MIAMI FINALIST NEVER WON SLAM TITLE*
1990 Judith Weisner, AUT
1994 Natasha Zvereva, BLR
1995 Kimiko Date, JPN
1996 Chanda Rubin, USA
1998 Anna Kournikova, RUS
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2012 Aga Radwanska, POL (W)
2015 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2017 Johanna Konta, GBR (W)

*UNSEEDED MIAMI CHAMPIONS*
2005 Kim Clijsters





MIAMI, FLORIDA USA (Premier Mandatory/Hard Court)
'19 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Osaka, #2 Halep, #3 Kvitova, #4 Stephens

All right, off with the gloves...

*ROUND OF 16*
#20 Muguruza d. #1 Osaka
Andreescu d. #9 Sabalenka
Azarenka d. #3 Kvitova
#12 Barty d. #7 Bertens
#5 Ka.Pliskova d. #23 Bencic
#4 Stephens d. #16 Mertens
#6 Svitolina d. #10 S.Williams
#2 Halep d. V.Williams

*QF*
Andreescu d. #20 Muguruza
Azarenka d. #12 Barty
#4 Stephens d. #5 Ka.Pliskova
#2 Halep d. #6 Svitolina

*SF*
Andreescu d. Azarenka
#2 Halep d. #4 Stephens

*FINAL*
#2 Halep d. Andreescu

...hey, I have to maintain *some* level of consistency, right?










Hmmm, I wonder if the greatest season in alpine skiing history will be enough for her to win Female Athlete of the Year in the various U.S.-based awards? I mean, Serena *might* made a final somewhere or something.

Meanwhile...





All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:01 PM 

6 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Lists are always good.

You may not like my Miami take, going way off book.

7.5 On the Up Side-The Hard Rock Edition.

1.Collins-Why am I picking somebody without a title? No, not because of Andreescu, but Buzarnescu. She won her first title when Stanford's event moved to San Jose. And normally when an event moves, you pick someone who has few titles. She's playing well enough that she could steal this.
2.Puig- Well, her coach won it last year with Stephens. More likely a QF run, but to bring it up again, her 2016 Olympic run is the epitome of a hot player in a new venue. Maybe lightning strikes twice.
3.Van Uytvanck-The most unorthodox game in the Top 50. Has the least offensive ros in the game, meaning she doesn't even try to hit winners, but it works for her. Does she have a one handed backhand or two? actually both! The two hander is for power, and the one is for slice. And uses them both equally. The forehand has a funky spin too, and on a new court, she might steal a couple of wins.
4.Kenin-The Whopper, The Big Mac, Kenin's forehand-Name three things that are big. Wildly erratic, with her Ostapenko lite game, she probably is a year away from winning a title like this. But she is getting close enough that her close losses should become wins. There are still tickets available on the Kenin express.
5.Ostapenko- Finally seems to be rounding into form. I won't say that she's back, but I will say that there is a good chance for her to get he first back to back wins since the US Open. Possibly gets Vondrousova again.
6.Azarenka- The Williams/Azarenka IW match felt like the 2011 US Open one. Azarenka won the next slam after that loss. Not saying that she will win, but is a legit contender on paper for the first time since her comeback.
7.McNally/Gauff- Somebody is going to reach the 2nd rd, then play Kasatkina. On form, that is one of the best results one could hope for.
7.5.Andreescu- Too tough of a turnaround to expect her to go deep, but Osaka won her first match here last year, and Bibi gets Begu again.

Mon Mar 18, 07:27:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

7.5 On the Down Side.

1.Stephens- Always linked with Keys, an unfortunate similarity is that they were both defending champs at a stadium they didn't return to. Keys didn't win San Jose, and Stephens won't win here. After ending the season getting 4 Top 10 wins at the YEC, she doesn't have any this year. Or any Top 30. But she is on this list, because 3 months in, she hasn't PLAYED anyone in the Top 30, the only only Top 30 player not scheduled to do so. Worded that way because Kasatkina's only top 30 match was a walkover vs Sharapova(36), who is still ahead of Stephens(39) in the race.
2.Suarez Navarro- Continuing the above theme, there are a few women in the Top 30 without Top 30 wins-Wozniacki & Goerges 0-1 and Giorgi 0-3, though all of hers(Kerber,Pliskova,Bertens)are top 10. So that leaves Carla at 0-4, and she has become a dinosaur. Only 30, Sevastova is a step up. Barty is 2. And Vondrousova/Andreescu are 3. Those teo play a finesse game, but can crush the ball. For someone like Suarez Navarro, who struggles to be aggressive, she is getting passed by. More likely the rest of her career are is like Petkovic, fun to watch, but not a threat to go deep.
3.Muguruza-Andreescu is good. Is she 6-0, 6-1 good? No, and that is a huge problem. Muguruza and her team adjust after the fact, but losses to kids reaching the top 100 like Van Uytvanck, Yastremska, and Andreescu is a thing. She has beaten the former two in rematches, but doesn't adjust in real time. And for someone who wins despite herself-note over 40 UE in wins vs Yastremska and Bertens, it is something to watch for as Zidansek is her possible 2nd rd match.
4.Rybarikova- With the first pick in the 2019 draft, the Arizona Cardinals select...? The Cardinals went 3-13. Currently Rybarikova is on a 2-14 run. If you wonder how she even got in the field with those numbers, between May 2017-May 2018, she went 49-23, famously making the Wimbledon SF. Wen the losing started, she lost in a final ranked 19. Those points moved her up to 18, and has now slid to the mid 70's.
5.Keys- may go up in the rankings if she does anything here. That may happen, as she may play another struggling player in Stosur. Because of her many layoffs, fitness is in question, as she hasn't won a 3 set match since Cincinnati.
6.Sasnovich- Already slight of build, she seems to have dropped some weight. The bigger problem is that in the 17 matches she has played, she has been bageled in a set 7 times. She actually won two of those matches, vs Svitolina in Elina's first match of the season, and vs the still winless Makarova.
7.Zvonareva- Just because she worked so hard to come back, got in the main draw after the fact, and had to pull out.
7.5.Nadal-I know, wrong blog, but he pulls out of so many hardcourt events. Just play a limited schedule.

Mon Mar 18, 07:53:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ha! Interesting Stephens/Keys factoid about the new sites. ;)

Thing with Stephens, she can go from zero to something big in the blink of an eye. If she's feeling it early, it could get interesting. If not, she'll likely be gone fast.

McNally or Gauff might end up being the Anisimova of this event. At least during the first week.

Oh, yeah. It's the Hard Rock Stadium event now. There's got to be a few good lines to come out of that over the next two weeks... like, say, "Between a Hard Rock and a Soft Place" or something like that.

Tue Mar 19, 01:18:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Agree on McNally and Gauff's chances. A softer part of the draw in which the 3rd rounder is Suarez Navarro/V.Williams/Qualifier.

Don't know how long Venus will hold up this week, but it was interesting to see that her compromised serve, and Kerber's regular one, were the same speed.

Also 2 matches between qualifiers, and Danilovic types with winnable matches.

Ranking notes-Four women need good results, ok, all, but you know what I mean. Without a good result, Ostapenko and Collins will drop out of the Top 30, Venus the Top 50, and Azarenka the Top 70.

Tue Mar 19, 09:11:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Doubles draw is out, and is just as bonkers as IW was. In the middle of the draw, Mertens/Sabalenka vs Collins/Ostapenko could/should be a crowd pleaser. On the bottom, Goerges/Halep vs Babos/Mladenovic and on the top Krejickova/Siniakova vs Azarenka/Barty.

32 seeded players at IW and Miami make the doubles fields full, as players don't want to sit around for a week. Though they might since it is raining.

Tue Mar 19, 02:31:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

So, we are getting a rematch? You know I mean Osaka/Hsieh. Andreescu/Kerber is a night match.

Osaka imitating Serena way too well.

One LL-Hercog and one Q-Niculescu made the 3rd round.

Begu pulled a Fett.

These courts must prefer a particular style because all of the spin doctors-Niculescu, Hsieh, Andreescu, Vondrousova, Barty, Sevastova are still alive.

If this were a slam, China would be winning your nation awards. Even the 16 and 17 yr olds have won or had good losses.

Last thought- McNally/Gauff was a win-win. McNally won a set, Gauff got a win, and didn't outclassed vs Kasatkina.

Sat Mar 23, 08:04:00 AM EDT  

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