1Q BSA's: All Imaginable Futures, Equally Possible
As it's turned out (so far), we've learned that the balance of power is, well, as balanced as it's ever been.
2019's opening quarter has greeted us with...
* - Fourteen different singles champions in fourteen events
* - Three different singles titlists being crowned after facing down match points
* - Just one singles champ who triumphed without ever losing a set
* - Singles champs representing 12 different nations, finalists from 15 and semifinalists from 21
* - Seven title winners aged 22 and under, and seven over the age of 22
And then there were...
* - The four players (and one doubles duo) with 10+ match winning streaks
* - The three first-time singles champs, four in doubles and one in mixed
* - The teenager going 4-0 vs. the Top 10
* - The five-way tie for the tour lead in semifinals (3), and the five players with multiple finals
* - The three Top 10 additions (two of them for the first times in their careers)
* - The Top 10er who is the first Aussie to debut there in nine years, joined there by a Belarusian for the first time in ten
* - The first Asian singles #1
* - And the first player to win her first two career major titles consecutively since 2001
As well as...
* - A(nother) Danish junior girls slam champ
* - A simultaneous Top 10er in singles and doubles for the first time in three years
* - Three straight first-time Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 champs ranked outside the Top 10 defeating current Top 10 former multiple slam champs or #1's in the Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami finals
* - A wheelchair star a title away from the very first *full* Career Slam in singles *and* doubles
* - A "Sunshine Double"
* - A hairtie positioned snugly -- and suddenly fashionably -- on a bicep
* - And, yes, even a "Qai Qai"
...a slam breakthrough, a Fed Cup power play, five Top 10 wins, her Top 10 debut and a big event title run in Miami have made Barty, while not the most talked about player of the 1st Quarter, the most multi-faceted, multi-level player of the first three months of 2019. Especially in a season characterized by that aforementioned balance of power, the Aussie might just be the most dependably dependable presence on tour.
In her tour-level season debut in Sydney, Barty reached her second straight final at the tournament. She was a 3rd set TB away from wrestling the title from the grasp of Petra Kvitova. She then went to Melbourne and became the first Aussie woman to reach the AO QF in a decade, and soon after headed off to the U.S. and led her nation into the Fed Cup semis with an Overall MVP performance that saw the 22-year old have a hand in all three points in a 3-2 win. Her Florida run saw her drop just two sets in six matches as she recorded three Top 10 wins, including getting some revenge against Kvitova in the QF, posting her first win in five meetings with the Czech (and their third of '19 alone).
Starting with her Rogers Cup semifinal run last August, the Barty Party has gradually gotten into full swing. She's gone 35-9, recorded six Top 10 wins, won Premier Mandatory and Elite Trophy titles, reached a Premier final, two Premier 5 semis and her maiden slam QF. What comes next is anyone's guess. But the odds are pretty good it'll be impressive.
===============================================
2. Petra Kvitova, CZE
...as great as Kvitova's 2019 has been, she's been oh-so-close to having it been *remarkably* better. She proved her preparedness for the season by taking the Sydney title and advancing all the way to the Australian Open final, along the way defeating Ash Barty (in both events) and Belinda Bencic before losing in three sets in a battle for the #1 vs. Naomi Osaka. Since then she's lost a Premier 5 final to Bencic and, with #1 again within reach, falling to Barty in their third '19 match-up in the Miami QF. The Czech leads the tour in finals (3), is tied for the most semis (3), and her 20 tour-level match wins trailed only countrywoman Karolina Pliskova (by one) in the 1st Quarter, but her back-to-back losses in finals (just the second such stretch in her career, and the first since 2013) -- which come after an eight-final winning streak that went back to 2016, and included a 7-0 run after her return from hand surgery -- serves as the *only* thing keeping her from sitting atop the early-season Player of the Year standings.
===============================================
3. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
...after a junior and early pro career that juggled injuries with promising flashes of talent, the 18-year old blossomed into the biggest story of the 1st Quarter. From Week 1, when she went to Auckland as the world #152 and transformed from qualifier into finalist after upsetting the likes of Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams, to her stunning Indian Wells triumph and quick follow-up second-defeat-in-a-week of Angelique Kerber, Andreescu has been a highlight and headline machine. Now ranked #23, with a 4-0 record vs. Top 10ers, the Canadian has wowed with a variety-filled game laced with edge, grit and drama. Lots of drama (ask Angie). The whispers of injury (back, hip, shoulder and/or leg, along with fatigue and cramping as her match total has piled up) have been ever-present, but rarely has anything seemed to hold back her forward momentum for long. After ending '18 on an 18-3 all-level finish, Andreescu has combined (WTA Q/MD, WTA 125 and Fed Cup) to go 31-4 to begin 2019.
If she schedules smartly and avoids major injury, it could be just the start of an historic season for Andreescu that, while it didn't come out of *nowhere*, has so far still been as stunning a development as Naomi Osaka's star-turn in '18. And she still has room -- and time -- to surpass it.
4. Naomi Osaka, JPN
...Osaka proved her 2018 U.S. Open run was anything but a fluke by winning slam #2 in her very first opportunity, becoming the first player in eighteen years to accomplish the "gimme more" feat by winning the Australian Open while taking down three straight Top 10 players (Svitolina, Pliskova & Kvitova) to also become the first Asian singles #1. Then she parted ways with coach Sascha Bajin after a 13-month stretch of phenomenal big event results. Since the decision, Osaka has gone just 3-3 and currently seems fated to soon lose her #1 ranking to any of a group of players (mainly Halep, Kvitova and Pliskova) hot on her heels. Even with a slam in hand, the tale of Osaka's 2019 campaign has only just begun.
5. Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
...in just their third event together, Mertens & Sabalenka have already made history, pulling off a "Sunshine Double" two-fer by winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. They ended the 1Q on a ten-match winning streak and are a combined 12-1 since they debuted as a duo at the Australian Open. Sabalenka is the third Belarusian to accomplish the "Sunshine Double" in some form (after Victoria Azarenka in singles in '16, and Natasha Zvereva in doubles in '97), while Mertens joins Kim Clijsters (WS '05) as the two Belgians to do the "coast-to-coast thing."
*"Sunshine Double" WINNERS IN WD*
1997 Natasha Zvereva, BLR
1999 Martina Hingis, SUI
2002 Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs, USA/AUS
2006 Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2007 Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2015 Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2016 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2019 Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
===============================================
6. Belinda Bencic, SUI
...after three seasons defined by injuries and inconsistencies, a healthy Bencic has finally gotten herself pointed in the right direction again. After being on the leading edge of the new generation of stars back in '15 (when she reached the Top 15 and notched eight Top 10 wins), her 2019 Swiss renaissance led her back into the Top 20 in the 1st Quarter. Bencic lifted her game to its greatest heights once again in Dubai, scoring four Top 10 wins and matching the career best Premier 5 title run in Toronto of three and a half years ago. Her winning streak reached a tour-best twelve in Indian Wells as she knocked off #1 Naomi Osaka and reached the semifinals. In total, her six Top 10 wins in 2019's first three months is double the number she had from 2016-18 combined.
===============================================
7. Romanian Fed Cup Team
...the Fed Cup Queens are dead. Long live the Maidens.
Three years ago, the Romanians had a chance to take down the Czechs in the 1st Round and reach their first FC semifinals. But the Maidens, as they often do, won a deciding doubles match and, as they also often do, went on to win another Fed Cup title. That didn't happen in Ostrava, and the rest ain't happening, either... at least not in 2019.
Finally, after years and years of trial and effort, the promise of the deepest generational depth of women's talent in Romanian tennis history collectively dragged itself out onto the big stage for all to see, accomplishing the feat that went by the wayside in 2016. Romania's huge win ended the Czech's run of ten consecutive semifinal appearances, eleven straight victorious home ties, and eighteen straight wins on hard court. They'd also been 7-1 in deciding doubles matches since winning their first FC title in 2011, kicking off their era of dynastic success and accomplished excess.
Romania's '16 efforts to upend the Czechs ultimately failed partly due to Simona Halep's singles loss to Karolina Pliskova, and it was precisely the reversal of that result this time around that proved key, as Halep backed up her week-long confidence about a potential upset being in the works. Leading by example, she overcame a shaky start when she failed to serve out the 1st set vs. Katerina Siniakova in match #2 despite leading 5-2, 40/love. But once she secured the stanza on her sixth SP, her weekend course was set. Proving why she's a two-time year-end #1, Halep prevailed in a tight 2:37 match over Pliskova to give the Romanians an important 2-1 lead, as it acted as a touch of a cushion that avoided the need for a singles *sweep* on Day 2. Cheering on her triumphant teammates from the sidelines, Halep later called the squad accomplishment, along with her literal and inspirational role in it, "close to the best day in my career.
In the deciding doubles, Irina-Camelia Begu & Monica Niculescu lost opening set to the world's #1 doubles duo, Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova. With the match tight deep into the 3rd, the Czechs finally seemed to find their groove with a break to get back on serve at 4-4. But rather than seize control in the closing games, they totally lost their grip on the match. The Romanians got the break back at love, won six straight points and eight of nine overall to close out the contest in 2:44, setting off yet another national tennis celebration. The win was Niculescu's 31st in FC play, the most ever in Romanian history.
Said ROU Captain Florin Segarceanu, "What a day. Hell and heaven. It was unbelievable, a dream come true, we are in the semis, we have a great team -- and we won't stop until we win it."
===============================================
8. Diede de Groot, NED
...the 22-year Dutch WC #1's early-career assault on the history books continued in Melbourne with a sweep of the AO singles and doubles crowns, her fifth career major title in both disciplines. Less than three full seasons into her top-level WC career, de Groot already stands third on the all-time WC singles slam list, just one behind Yui Kamiji (6) while still a career-long quest in the rear view mirror of the great Esther Vergeer (25). With her AO wins she's just a Roland Garros singles title from becoming the first player to claim all eight slam crowns, and has now appeared in every s/d final in the last seven majors ('17 WI to '19 AO), and has swept both titles at the last three. She's reached the s/d final at 15 of her 18 career slam draw appearances.
===============================================
9. Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
...good friends, and now grand slam champions. The thirtysomething duo (Stosur recently turned 35, while Zhang is 30) opened the 1Q by teaming to take the Australian Open doubles title. Stosur was crowned as the first Aussie to win the title Down Under since 2005 (it's her seventh overall slam win -- with 1/3/3 career numbers in WS/WD/MX -- and first WD major since '06), while Zhang became the first Chinese woman to take the AO win in thirteen years. They then ended the 1Q by reaching the Miami final.
===============================================
10. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
...already a former #1 and slam finalist, Pliskova is still seeking THE big win. She opened '19 on a ten-match winning streak, taking the title in Brisbane and reaching the Australian Open semis after her Houdini-esque escape vs. Serena Williams (5-1 and MPs down in the 3rd set) in the QF. She fell to eventual champ Naomi Osaka in three sets a round away from her second slam final. After losing to Simona Halep in the key singles match-up in the Czech Republic's 3-2 Fed Cup 1st Round loss to Romania, Pliskova got some measure of revenge against Halep in Miami, denying the former #1's attempt to return to the top spot in the semis. In the final, though, Pliskova came up far short against Ash Barty when it came to claiming what would have been her biggest career title, quickly falling away after taking an early 1st set lead.
===============================================
1. Ash Barty, AUS
2. Naomi Osaka, JPN
3. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
4. Elise Mertens, BEL
5. Kiki Bertens, NED
6. Anett Kontaveit, EST
7. Danielle Collins, USA
8. Donna Vekic, CRO
9. Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
10. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
11. Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
12. Viktorija Golubic, SUI
HM- Jen Brady, USA
*FRESH FACES*
1. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2. Sonya Kenin, USA
3. Dayana Yastremska, UKR
4. Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
5. Amanda Anisimova, USA
6. Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
7. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
8. Iga Swiatek, POL
9. Tamara Zidansek, SLO
10. Viktoriia Dema, UKR
HM- Marie Bouzkova, CZE and Whitney Osuigwe, USA
*SURPRISES*
1. Wang Yafan, CHN
2. Danielle Collins, USA
3. Kimberly Birrell, AUS
4. Astra Sharma, AUS
5. Zhu Lin, CHN
HM- Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL and Harriet Dart, GBR
*VETERANS*
1. Petra Kvitova, CZE
2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Angelique Kerber, GER
4. Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
5. Julia Goerges, GER
HM- Serena Williams, USA
*COMEBACKS*
1. Belinda Bencic, SUI
2. Jordanne Whiley, GBR (WC)
3. Alja Tomljanovic, AUS
4. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
5. Jen Brady, USA
6. Misaki Doi, JPN
7. Louisa Chirico, USA
8. Lucie Hradecka, CZE
9. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
10. Greta Arn, HUN
HM- Olga Govortsova, BLR
*JUNIOR STARS*
1. Clara Tauson, DEN
2. Dasha Lopatetska, UKR
3. Caty McNally, USA
4. Elli Mandlik, USA
5. Coco Gauff, USA
6. Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
7. Diane Parry, FRA
8. Lulu Sun, SUI
9. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
10. Joanna Garland, TPE
HM- Daria Snigur, UKR and Anastasia Tikhonova, RUS
*DOUBLES*
1. Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
2. Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
3. Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan, TPE/TPE
4. Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
5. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
7. Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenvoic, HUN/FRA
8. Irina-Camelia Begu/Monica Niculescu, ROU/ROU
9. Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke, USA/CZE
10. Astra Sharma, AUS
HM- Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
*DOWN*
1. Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2. Sloane Stephens, USA
3. Demi Schuurs, NED
4. Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
5. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
HM- CZE Fed Cup
*MOST IMPROVED*
1. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2. Wang Yafan, CHN
3. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
4. Sonya Kenin, USA
5. Danielle Collins, USA
6. Caty McNally, USA
7. Katie Boulter, GBR
8. Jen Brady, USA
9. Priscilla Hon, AUS
10. Giulia Capocci, ITA (WC)
HM- Dana Mathewson, USA (WC) & Harriet Dart, GBR
*WHEELCHAIR*
1. Diede de Groot, NED
2. Yui Kamiji, JPN
3. Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED
4. Jordanne Whiley, GBR
5. Aniek Van Koot, NED
HM- Giulia Capocci, ITA
*ITF*
1. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2. Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS
3. Claura Tauson, DEN
4. Dasha Lopatetska, UKR
5. Caty McNally, USA
HM- Mirjam Bjorklund, SWE
=FED CUP (February)=
1. Ash Barty, AUS [1st Rd. MVP]
2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Irina-Camelia Begu/Monica Niculescu, ROU
4. Georgina Garcia Perez, ESP [WG II MVP]
5. Johanna Konta, GBR [Zone MVP]
6. Ash Barty/Priscilla Hon, AUS
7. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
8. Caroline Garcia, FRA
9. Alize Cornet, FRA
10. Georgina Garcia Perez/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP
11. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
12. Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS
13. Katie Boulter, GBR
14. Olga Danilovic, SRB
15. Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
16. Belinda Bencic, SUI
17. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
18. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
19. Zarina Diyas, KAZ
20. Anna Danilina/Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ
[captain]
1. Julien Benneteau, FRA
2. Florin Segarceanu, ROU
3. Alicia Molik, AUS
4. Anne Keothavong, GBR
5. Anabel Medina Garrigues, ESP
6. Igor Andreev, RUS
7. Tatiana Poutchek, BLR
8. Adrians Zguns, LAT
9. Heidi El Tabakh, CAN
10. Dias Doskarayev, KAZ
11. Roberta Burzagli, BRA
12. Anne Kremer, LUX
HM- Marion Maruska, AUT and Heinz Gunthardt, SUI
Aga Radwanska's 4th dance! #Radwanska #DancingWithTheStars
— Love, Michal ?? (@michal1497) March 22, 2019
CC: Polsat pic.twitter.com/KRI4esiDdv
The desert proved to be Bianca Andreescu's true proving ground, as Top 20 (Wang & Muguruza) and Top 10 (Svitolina & Kerber) players were dispatched with an array of in-rally variety and late-match guts that made the 18-year old Canadian a maiden tour singles title winner at Indian Wells in her first career Premier Mandatory event appearance. The win made her the tournament's fourth unseeded champ, first wild card winner, fourth youngest (and youngest since a 17-year old Serena Williams in 1999) titlist, as well as the tour's lowest-ranked (#60) player to ever win a PM championship.
Soak it in. ??@BAndreescu_, 2019 Indian Wells Champion.#BNPPO19#BibiRising pic.twitter.com/9jGzpZYsKt
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 17, 2019
===============================================
2. BETTER CALL BENCIC (AGAIN):
Three and a half years removed from a four Top 10-win Premier 5 title run in Toronto, Belinda Bencic again defeated four Top 10 players on her way to claiming a Premier 5 title in Dubai, her first tour-level crown since that title run in Canada. She saved six MP in defeating #9 Aryna Sabalenka in the 3rd Round, then came back from a set down in the QF to outlast a tiring #2 Simona Halep, her biggest win since 2016 (and biggest in a tour event since upsetting #1 Serena during the Toronto run). In the semis, two-time defending champ and world #6 Elina Svitolina led 5-3 in the 3rd set and served for the match at 5-4 only to squander a big event SF lead for a second straight week. In the final, Bencic took control against an ever-more-erractic #4 Petra Kvitova in three sets to claim career title #3.
===============================================
3. WHAT NAOMI DID FOR AN ENCORE:
Four months after her maiden slam win in New York, Naomi Osaka does the unthinkable -- she wins #2 in her very next major. Her Australian Open triumph, which included a 3rd Round comeback from 7-5/4-1 down vs. Hsieh Su-wei and consecutive Top 10 wins over Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova, the latter in the the final in what was a battle to overtake Simona Halep and become the new #1-ranked player in the world. Osaka is the first Asian player in tennis history to ascend to the singles #1 position, as well as the first to win her first two career slam titles consecutively since Jennifer Capriati in 2001, as well as the first woman not named Williams to win back-to-back slams since Kim Clijsters in 2011.
===============================================
4. A "SUNSHINE DOUBLE" FOR TWO:
Though only having played their debut event as a duo at this year's Australian Open, Elise Mertens & Aryna Sabalenka made their second and third pairings historically memorable. They won both of them, taking the crowns at Indian Wells and Miami to pull off the tour's fifth "Sunshine Double" run of back-to-back titles at the two top level U.S. spring hard court circuit events. The top level duos the pair downed in the two events included a virtual who's who of the tour's highest-achieving pairs, including Krejcikova/Siniakova (#1 ranked over the past year), Babos/Mladenovic (#2-ranked AO runners-up), Hsieh/Strycova (Dubai '19 and I.W. '18 champs), Stosur/Zhang (reigning AO champs), Dabrowski/Xu (twice) and even the recently-formed Azarenka/Barty.
===============================================
It's a Barty Party! ??@ashbar96 is all smiles holding that @MiamiOpen trophy ?? pic.twitter.com/Jbv4WJqcYl
— WTA (@WTA) March 30, 2019
5. A BARTY PARTY IN SOUTH FLORIDA:
Ash Barty's career-best Miami title run saw her drop just two sets in six matches as she knocked off four 2019 title winners (Yastremska, Bertens, Kvitova and Pliskova) and three Top 10ers. After getting her first win in five tries vs. Petra Kvitova in the QF, the Aussie (after defeating Anett Kontaveit in the semis) took out her tiring Czech countrywoman in straight sets in the final. The title made Barty the first Australian woman to make her Top 10 singles debut since 2009, and the first player on the tour to simultaneously rank in both the singles and doubles Top 10 since 2016 (and the only current player to be so positioned on either pro tour).
===============================================
6. BELGIAN RUMBLE IN THE DESERT:
In the wake of Belgium's home court Fed Cup loss to France, Elise Mertens rebounded by claiming the biggest title of her career in Doha, defeating three straight Top 10 players (as many as she had during her entire career before the event) -- Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep, doing yeowoman's work by outlasting *both* the latter two warrior-like former #1's in three setters. In the final vs. the Romanian, Mertens 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 in '18) after taking a medical timeout to treat a back injury early in the 2nd set. She wore down Halep, dealing with foot issues that hampered her (painful) movement, and won 3-6/6-4/6-3. 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.
===============================================
7. ASH LEADS THE AUSSIES IN ASH(E)VILLE (naturally):
Ash Barty has put the Aussie Fed Cup hopes on her back in recent seasons like few ever have when it comes to a tennis nation as large as Australia. The percentage of *all* of AUS's points having come in matches won by Barty is more like something you'd see from a small nation with one "top-level" player (you know the usual suspects). Her three-point weekend against the U.S. this February was a repeat of what she did *last* February against Ukraine, and she's accounted for eight of Australia's nine "live" points won since the start of '18. Going back to the 2014 semis, she's had a hand in twelve of AUS's total of sixteen points in the ties in which she's appeared. Her singles wins in the 1st Round match-up Asheville, North Carolina over Sonya Kenin and Madison Keys make her 8-1 in her FC career, and her deciding doubles victory (w/ Priscilla Hon) gives her a 6-1 WD mark. She's won eleven consecutive combined FC matches, coming close to the great run (13 con.) that CoCo Vandeweghe strung together en route to the U.S. FC win in 2017. Maybe most impressive, though, is the steady presence, at just 22, that she provides as the team's clear leader. Barty even made Alicia Molik's choice to go with FC neophyte Hon as her partner in the deciding doubles match vs. Collins/Melichar seem a non-risky gamble *only* because Barty's influence made everyone feel that it'd be all right.
And in the sticky wicket that is Fed Cup, that's about as good as it gets. In the end, Barty is a perfect virtual poster child for all that is good about Fed Cup.
3?? wins out of 3 in this tie
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 11, 2019
1??1?? consecutive #FedCup wins
Ash Barty has been unstoppable for Australia ??#USAAUS pic.twitter.com/bFlW2Cm3mv
===============================================
8. SYDNEY IS PETRA-FIED:
Petra Kvitova wins her eighth straight tour final, taking the Sydney crown with straight sets wins over Aryna Sabalenka, Hsieh Su-wei, Angelique Kerber and Aliaksandra Sasnovich that allowed her to have just enough gas (barely enough) to get past Ash Barty in three sets in the final, coming back from 3-0 down in the 3rd, twice failing to serve out the match but still pulling enough from herself to close things out in a deciding TB even while clearly exhausted and beginning to cramp up.
===============================================
9. A TITLE DEFENSE FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING:
In the end, no Canadian -- neither one of them, in fact -- was going to prevent Julia Goerges from becoming the first woman to successfully defend the Auckland singles title in fifteen years. The 30-year old German wasn't always in *top* form in Auckland, but when she needed to be she was. Wins over Johanna Larsson and Mona Barthel set up a QF match with Genie Bouchard. The (then) Canadian #1 led 3-0 in the 3rd set, and held a MP, but Goerges pushed things to a tie-break, and then put on a great 14-point performance to get the win, closing out by advancing to the net with a 7-6 lead and reaching inside Bouchard's chest, pulling out her beating heart and showing it to her, taking what looked like a down-the-line pass to tie things at 7-7 and turning it into a match-ending volley instead. She followed that up by handling Viktoria Kuzmova in the semis and then overcoming a very slow start versus (now Canadian #1) Bianca Andreescu in the final, finally wearing down the overworked teenager in the decided 3rd set.
===============================================
10. A SPOTLESS SONYA:
A week after winning her maiden tour-level doubles titles in Week 1, Soyna Kenin opened Week 2 a bang in Hobart, knocking out #1 seed Caroline Garcia. She never relented, notching wins over Ons Jabeur, Kirsten Flipkens, Alize Cornet and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on her way to becoming the season's first maiden WTA singles champion and the only WTA singles title winner in the 1st Quarter to do so without losing a set.
===============================================
HM- "DIEDE THE GREAT" EDGES EVER CLOSER TO GREATNESS:
Wheelchair #1 Diede de Groot sweeps the Australian Open singles and doubles crowns, giving her three consecutive WC singles slam titles and making her the reigning champion at seven of the eight disciplines in major competition. Hers is the most dominant run in the sport since the retirement of her all-timer countrywoman Esther Vergeer before the '13 season. De Groot is a RG singles title away from becoming the first in the sport to have won all eight slam crowns.
2. Simona Halep inspires and leads Romania to history-altering 3-2 upset of Czechs
3. Georgina Garcia-Perez saved MP in Match #2, earns three points in ESP's 3-2 win over JPN
4. Johanna Konta goes 4-0 in Zone play, leading GBR to victory in Bath
5. Bianca Andreescu leads Canada to WG II road win over the Dutch
2. Danielle Collins, previously with zero slam MD wins, reaches the Australian Open semis
3. Ash Barty defeats Ostapenko, Halep and Bertens, is Sydney RU for second straight year
4. At the AO, Amanda Anisimova becomes the first player born in the 2000's to reach a slam Round of 16
5. Maria Sakkari hits a winner on MP vs. Roger Federer in Hopman Cup play
(??@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/3O2QOKZkD9
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) January 3, 2019
????(??@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/gaQ2SaTq9o
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) January 3, 2019
Maria sneaks across after on-court interview and nicks the towel Roger has been sitting on... and I think Stefanos was intending to take it first! Lovely, lovely match, esp that last point from #Sakkari. She's won a lot of new fans in Australia, that's for sure.
— Marianne Bevis (@MarianneBevis) January 3, 2019
“I want this so bad!”@Bandreescu_ has been in sensational form since her last conversation with coach Sylvain Bruneau.#BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/RuOStbsMgE
— WTA (@WTA) March 17, 2019
Flying in Acapulco?? ...@AbiertoTelcel pic.twitter.com/hJTrnHjDyS
— Tatjana Maria (@Maria_Tatjana) February 28, 2019
An amazing summer is on the way ???? pic.twitter.com/sSJnpJbvfz
— Patty Schnyder (@pattyschnyder) January 10, 2019
A big shoutout goes to TC fitness coach Virginie Tremblay, who has been by Bianca’s side as her coach all week in Auckland.
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) January 5, 2019
//
Salutations très méritées à Virginie Tremblay, qui a été aux côtés de Bianca tout au long de la semaine en tant que coach!
Merci, @VirgiTremblay ?? pic.twitter.com/dn3DkE091b
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. ???? @Bandreescu_ https://t.co/RVzELL0KYw
— Max Gao (@MaxJGao) January 3, 2019
What an incredible journey it was! Went through qualifications all the way to the finals. 8 matches in a row, it was amazing! Congratulations @Bandreescu_ I’m so proud of you. It was a pleasure to have lived this special moment with you. Now we are off to Melbourne for AO! Allez! pic.twitter.com/JORN2SyfsQ
— Virginie Tremblay (@VirgiTremblay) January 6, 2019
Right back at you, @VirgiTremblay! pic.twitter.com/OuFioOsChr
— V (@vanistrator) January 6, 2019
Olympia was too cute cheering on Momma @serenawilliams and Auntie @Venuseswilliams in Abu Dhabi.
— WTA (@WTA) December 29, 2018
More Social ?? ---> https://t.co/aOlYsr8aAd
(??: @alexisohanian) pic.twitter.com/1lZJ6m81vP
Teenage Dream@Bandreescu_ #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/gQwL5ACXf5
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 18, 2019
1. Indian Wells Final - Bianca Andreescu def. Angelique Kerber
...6-4/3-6/6-4. This one came down to a fabulous 3rd set, as both brought out the best in one 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. Down a break a 3-2, Andreescu's "I want this so bad!" declaration to coach Sylvain Bruneau set the stage for back-to-back games won with a handful of gigantic shots off the Canadian's racket as 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. 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.
===============================================
2. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Serena Williams def. Victoria Azarenka
...7-5/6-3. In their first meeting since the '16 Indian Wells final, Serena and Vika managed to turn back the clock and quite possibly produced what will be the best two-set match of 2019. Surely, the nostalgia *and* quality levels were high in this one.
The points @serenawilliams and @vika7 are simply unreal! #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/iWZAX6mmzX
— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2019
Volleyin' @vika7 ???????? #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/0LpeATe1SV
— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2019
In her first match since losing a serving 5-1 with the first of 4 MP lead vs. Pliskova in Melbourne, Williams served up 5-3, 30/love in the 1st here, only to see a DF start her down to the path to a temporary setback. Azarenka leveled things at 5-5, and forced Serena to hold in an eight-minute game #11 in which she saved four BP. Naturally, Serena ended the game with back-to-back-to-back big serves, the last of which was an ace. She then got the break to take the 1st. In the 2nd, Williams again served at 5-3, but was BP down after having held two MP. Again, she held, this time to close out the match.
What a way to celebrate #InternationalWomansDay
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) March 9, 2019
Super-Moms @serenawilliams & @vika7 deliver incredible @BNPPARIBASOPEN R2 match. pic.twitter.com/j2v1wm0LUp
===============================================
3. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Johanna Konta 6-4/6-7(3)/7-5
...not starting until 12:30 a.m., not ending until 3:12 a.m., Garbi vs. Jo will probably be 2019's best match that no one actually remembers (either because they never watched it, or fell asleep while trying to do so).
===============================================
4. Sydney Final - Petra Kvitova def. Ash Barty 1-6/7-5/7-6(3)
...pushing herself to the physical limit in the heat, Kvitova responded in a dramatic 3rd set. Down 3-0 to Barty in front of an Aussie crowd, she battled back and served for the title at 5-4 and 6-5 while fighting exhaustion. Up 5-3 in the deciding TB, Kvitova began to show recognizable signs of cramping, but she had one last surge in her and won 7-3, causing Barty to come up one win short of the Sydney title for the second straight year.
===============================================
5. Australian Open Final - Naomi Osaka def. Petra Kvitova 7-5/5-7/6-4
...after losing a 7-5/5-3 lead with four MP, Osaka raises her game in the 3rd to claim her second straight slam crown and become the first Asian singles #1.
===============================================
6. Fed Cup 1st Rd. Match #3 - Simona Halep/ROU def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...6-4/5-7/6-4. In defeating Pliskova in 2:37 to set the tone and stage for yet another great Romanian sports triumph (a road upset of the champion Czechs), Halep's own national sports legend grew exponentially once again. While she'd lost her #1 in Australia, what she did in Ostrava was proof that she could return to the top of the sport, lead Romania to two more "firsts" by the end of 2019, and maybe even win that Gold medal she likes to talk about, too. She's already a living sports legend back home, but that doesn't mean there's not still more to be accomplished before she's through.
===============================================
7. Dubai SF - Belinda Bencic def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/3-6/7-6(3). A week after blowing a 4-1 (w/ 3 BP for 5-1) 3rd set lead vs. Halep in the Doha semis, Svitolina loses a 5-3 (and serving at 5-4) lead vs. Bencic. Serving to reach the final of the event she'd won the last two years, Svitolina fell behind love/40 and DF'd her way to 5-5, then had another DF to start game #12 as she fell behind down double MP at 15/40. She *did* manage to save 3 MP -- one w/ an ace -- to force a TB, but Bencic took control there early.
===============================================
8. Fed Cup Europe/Africa I Promotional Playoff Match #2 - Johanna Konta/GBR def. Aleksandra Krunic/SRB
...7-6(1)/3-6/6-2. In Britain's first hosted FC competition in 26 years, Konta wasn't the only member of the team to go undefeated for the week (Katie Boulter did, too), but her path proved to be the most dramatic in Bath. After her victory over Maria Sakkari completed a win over the Greeks, she also closed out a tough 2-0 win over Hungary to win Pool A, claiming a 3rd set TB over Anna Bondar after having earlier failed to secure a double-break lead in the set, three BP at 4-4 and another at 6-5. In the Promotional Playoff, she staged a 1st set comeback vs. Alekandra Krunic (who served for the set at 5-4 and 6-5), lost the 2nd and then collapsed on her way to the locker room between sets. "I progressively started feeling more and more unwell," Konta said, "feeling light-headed and shaky and feeling a little bit out of body and it got the better of me at the end of the second set." After being treated, she returned and managed to win a 6-2 3rd, then immediately collapsed just inside the baseline and had to be helped back to the changeover area to recuperate along with her celebratory teammates. "I don't even remember how the last point finished. All I remember is that the ball didn't come back and I was overcome with emotion."
That moment @JohannaKonta completed the victory for the GB @FedCup Team and we're loving the passion from captain @annekeothavong!
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 9, 2019
Watch the reaction now ?? https://t.co/Fg2dhBEGn1 and on @btsport pic.twitter.com/Sxy8QysWer
===============================================
9. Indian Wells 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 Williamsin 1999. As it turned out, she was hardly finished.
===============================================
10. Melbourne WC Open Final - Yui Kamiji def. Diede de Groot 3-6/7-5/7-6(11)
...Kamiji saves 2 MP after trailing 5-4, 40/15 in the 3rd, then 3 more in the 13-11 TB.
===============================================
11. Australian Open 4th Round - Serena Williams def. Simona Halep 6-1/4-6/6-4
...Halep rallies in the 2nd set to force a 3rd in Williams and Halep's best slam encounter. Halep has 3 BP in game #6 of the 3rd, but Williams' serve averts disaster.
===============================================
12. Miami 3rd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Angelique Kerber
...6-4/4-6/6-1. Kerber broke to open the match, but the teenager soon began to find her footing (you knew she was fully "on" when she pulled another drop-and-lob combo reminiscent of several she pulled off vs. Kerber last Sunday). Kerber's DF handed the break back for 2-2, and Andreescu pulled out back-to-back power shots to close out a hold for 4-3 after encountering danger at 30/30. While the 18-year old was raising her game level, Kerber was increasingly bothered by the variety of paces, slices, high bounces and angles coming at her. Andreescu broke to take, dare I say it, a nearly "routine" 6-4 set. Andreescu nearly ran away with things in the 2nd. She served up 6-4/4-2 and appeared on her way to a hold, only to play a few loose points and open the door for the German, who'd begun to wince and flex her wrapped left thigh, as her movement was showing signs of becoming an issue. Andreescu couldn't get the break back, and instead saw Kerber buckle down and direct a series of relentless rallies, with shot after shot going to the Andreescu backhand, which cracked just enough to get give Kerber a break lead at 5-4. She served out the set a game later and the two were headed to another deciding set.
But Andreescu (did we expect anything different?) didn't wilt or slink away. Instead she changed up the pattern of her own game, working in more angled shots and moving forward toward the net behind her power shots. She got a break to lead 3-1, and again held a 4-1 edge. This time, though, she didn't let up, getting an insurance break for a 5-1 advantage. She served out the set at 6-1 around half-past 1 a.m. to record her fourth Top 10 win in four matches vs. Top 10 players since January, adding yet another feather to an already crowded cap while a frustrated/ticked-off and maybe sore Kerber was curt with her handshakes, and called Andreescu "the biggest drama queen ever" at the net before swiftly exiting the court after her second loss in less than a week to the 1Q's breakout player.
===============================================
13. Hua Hin 2nd Rd. - Tamara Zidansek def. Jennifer Brady
...6-3/0-6/7-6(9). The one took it upon itself to bring almost *all* the crazy. Zidansek led 5-1, 40/love in the 3rd, but squandered three MP. Before she knew what hit her she was saving three *Brady* MP at 6-4 in the deciding TB. Brady soon after saved three more MP, only to see Zidansek advance after converting on MP #7.
===============================================
14. 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.
===============================================
15. Fed Cup Europe/Africa I Round Robin Match #1 - Katie Boulter/GBR def. Dalma Galfi/HUN 6-4/6-7(5)/7-6(1)
Fed Cup Europe/Africa I Round Robin Match #2 - Johanna Konta/GBR def. Anna Bondar/HUN 6-2/6-7(1)/7-6(4)
...with the prospect of yet another just-missed-it FC disappointment (on the heels of last April's WG II Playoff loss to Japan after leading 2-1 following Konta's defeated of Naomi Osaka), Boulter and Konta this time went to the wire to take down the "second string" Hungarians, with both coming back from a break down in the 3rd set to win a match-up that determined a berth in the Promotional Playoff vs. Serbia.
===============================================
A selfie for the ages. @serenawilliams @rogerfederer #HopmanCup pic.twitter.com/z8ntJ2aNAx
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) January 1, 2019
Oh what a night ???? pic.twitter.com/Fj9arBT6Ni
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) January 1, 2019
Hopman Cup rr MX - Bencic/Federer (SUI) def. S.WILLIAMS/Tiafoe (USA)
...4-2/4-3(3). Oh, yeah, did you hear? Something great and rare happened in Perth. Good thing it happened in 2019, while it still could.
Smiles all around as the Swiss secure victory!@rogerfederer and @BelindaBencic defeat Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe 4-2 4-3(3).@Channel9 @9Gem | #HopmanCup pic.twitter.com/iG015tS827
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) January 1, 2019
Compliments. Laughs. Selfies.
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 1, 2019
It's clear as day that @SerenaWilliams and @RogerFederer had a ball facing off in mixed doubles. #HopmanCup pic.twitter.com/5B7YRloHzx
...Williams serves up 5-1 with a MP in the 3rd. But after rolling her ankle, she never wins another game. Pliskova saves four MP in all, sweeping the final six games in the arguably (injury or no injury) most shocking loss (sorry, Virginie Razzano) in Williams' career.
===============================================
2. Dubai 3rd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/2-6/7-6(7). Eventual Dubai champ Bencic's six saved MP are the most averted en route to a title since Andrea Petkovic saved eight (all in one match vs. Van Uytvanck) on her way to winning in Antwerp in 2015. Later that year in Toronto, Bencic saved a MP (vs. Lisicki, also in the 3rd Rd.) along the way to her four Top 10-win run there.
What a match!@BelindaBencic saves 6?? match points to upset Sabalenka, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7)! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/xLwUJJAAW9
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2019
===============================================
3. 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 constructed 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.
===============================================
4. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Hsieh Su-wei 5-7/6-4/6-1
...Hsieh leads 7-5/4-1 over a frustrated Osaka, who eventually hits her way out of her stupor and gradually seizes control. She goes on to win the title. Hsieh would turn the tables on Osaka in Miami, coming back from a set down (0-2 in the 3rd) to upset the world #1 in the Miami 3rd Round).
===============================================
5. Fed Cup WG II Match #2 - Georgina Garcia-Perez/ESP def. Misaki Doi/JPN 6-2/4-6/7-6(2)
Fed Cup WG II Match #4 - Georgina Garcia-Perez/ESP def. Nao Nibino 6-3/1-6/6-1
Fed Cup WG II Match #5 - Georgina Garcia-Perez/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez (ESP) def. Miyu Kato/Makota Ninomiya (JPN) 6-1/6-3
...GGP's complete weekend of Fed Cup ecstasy.
A point away from losing to Doi and seeing Spain go down 2-0 on the road after Day 1, the big-serving GGP seized upon the Japanese player's blown opportunity and raced to a commanding lead in the deciding TB, winning it 7-2. After Kurumi Nara had put Japan up 2-1 on Day 2, Garcia-Perez again came to the rescue, winning a three-setter over Nao Hibino (who collapsed due to cramping on her way to her press conference after having won Match #1 on Saturday) to force the deciding doubles into reality. There GGP returned yet again -- like something from an old movie where a monster ravages Tokyo -- and picked up a *third* point along with Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, taking down Miyu Kato/Makoto Ninomiya (5-0 in '18 FC doubles) 1 & 3 to secure a crazy winning weekend in Japan.
And it's all level in Japan as Spain fight back in the second rubber.
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 9, 2019
Garcia-Perez defeats Doi 62 46 76(2).#FedCup pic.twitter.com/TbiSUGscJB
===============================================
6. Dubai QF - Hsieh Su-wei def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-4/1-6/7-5. And the Tennis Gods said, "Now we're even, Karolina." If one was looking for the moment that would restore balance to the universe following Pliskova's win from 5-1 and MP down vs. Serena Williams at the AO, well, the Czech losing here after seeming to have things wrapped up -- not coincidentally also after leading 5-1 in the 3rd, as if the TG's thought we'd be too stupid to notice it otherwise -- would appear to be the real deal.
===============================================
7. Auckland QF - Julia Goerges def. Genie Bouchard 3-6/6-3/7-6(6)
...Bouchard leads 3-0 in the 3rd, and has a MP at 6-5. But Goerges takes things to a deciding TB, plays it terrifically well, and stone cold picks a TB-tying winner from the Canadian's pocket on point #14 and turns it into a converted MP. She went on to defend her title.
===============================================
8. Brisbane Final - Karolina Pliskova def. Lesia Tsurenko 4-6/7-5/6-2
...Tsurenko led 6-4/5-3, but Pliskova turns things around to win her second Brisbane title in three years.
===============================================
9. Australian Open 1st Round - Danielle Collins def. Julia Goerges 2-6/7-6(5)/6-4
...Goerges serves up 6-2/5-4, but Collins flips the script and makes the German the First Seed Out at the AO while recording her first career slam win. She goes on to reach the semifinals.
===============================================
10. Miami 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Irina-Camelia Begu
...4-6/7-6(2)/6-2. Though she *did* get an extra day between events due to the early-week rain in South Florida, the 18-year old I.W. champ found herself down 6-4/5-1, and serving at love/30, in the 1st Round against Begu. But rather than accept her seeming fate (at 4-1 down), after being calmed by coach Sylvain Bruneau when the shots that had just won her a big title weren't working against the Romanian, she first mentally grabbed onto a match-saving hand hold and avoided slipping off the cliff, an act which then allowed her to physically to do the same soon afterward. Again, Bruneau stressed the positive. What happened next was another example not only of the fight inside Andreescu, but the good work being done by her team (Bruneau, but also Virginie Tremblay, who'd been with her during her Auckland run) when it comes to knowing how to motivate and bring out the best in her when times are stressful, while also not making an unseemly courtside scene. While Begu held a MP and twice served for the match, Andreescu rallied to win the 2nd in a TB (securing it with a drop shot winner, naturally), then cruised to a 3rd set victory
===============================================
11. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Venus Williams def. Petra Kvitova
...4-6/7-5/6-4. Venus/Petra was a sprawling (though often sloppy) and sometimes heroic tale, as '18 semifinalist Williams took down the world #3 despite being hampered by a compromised serve (she had no aces and fluctuating service speeds) and seeing the Czech go up a set and two breaks, then a break up again in the 3rd. While Williams' fight and stubborn will provided the foundation for the comeback, Kvitova's own errors -- off the ground, in her return game and on serve, where she had 11 DF -- are what ultimately cost her the match. She was able to overcome her miscues for a set and a half, but could never seize control again because of them down the stretch. Even Williams' iffy serve proved to be an issue for Kvitova, as she often found herself overhitting returns off slower-than-anticipated serves and/or surprised when Venus would gear up for the occasion "wow" shot (including one out-of-the-blue 117 mph burst amidst a slew of 80/90-mph tosses).
.@Venuseswilliams earns the biggest upset of the @BNPPARIBASOPEN
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2019
Escapes Kvitova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/ceM53JeAxe
===============================================
12. Miami QF - Anett Kontaveit def. Hsieh Su-wei
...3-6/6-2/7-5. The talented Estonian has been in search for a reputation-building run in a big event for a while now, and finally found it in South Florida. But it took a comeback from 4-0 down in the 3rd vs. Hsieh, who went from seemingly in full control to committing an uncharacteristic number of errors to help lay down a path for Kontaveit to reach her first career Premier Mandatory semifinal.
===============================================
13. Hua Hin Final - Dayana Yastremska def. Ajla Tomljanovic
...6-2/2-6/7-6(3). The teenager is gonna get a rep, I tell ya. In the changeover before Tomljanovic was set to serve for the match at 5-2, Yastremska took a unexpected MTO, making the Aussie sit a little while longer before attempting to win her first career title. She got within two points of the crown in game #8, but dropped serve there, then did it again two games later in her second attempt to close things out. Tomljanovic did manage to hold to force a TB, and held an early mini-break lead at 2-0. But the Ukrainian won seven of the final eight points to secure her second career title.
===============================================
14. Budapest SF - Alison Van Uytvanck def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...3-6/6-4/7-6(7). If not for Bencic in Dubai the same week, Van Uytvanck's five saved MP *here* would have been the most faced by any champion since Petko saved eight against *her* four years ago. Alexandrova was up a break twice in the 3rd, only to see the Belgian finally close out the match on her own MP #2... after winning this successful challenge:
Alexandrova lost the match on this ball omfg she had like 5 match points pic.twitter.com/I5XLHjp0AA
— Pedro Lavandoski (@plavandoski) February 23, 2019
===============================================
15. Indian Wells 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.
===============================================
HM- Indian Wells 125 Final - Viktorija Golubic def. Jen Brady
...3-6/7-5/6-3. Brady led 6-3/5-3, served for the match and held a MP. But she failed to close out the title, saw Golubic win eight of nine games to take a commanding 4-1 lead in the 3rd and go on to win her biggest title in three years.
===============================================
...6-3/6-0. Kasatkina had already started her follow-up campaign to her Top 10 '18 season by becoming the year's first big upset victim (losing to #283 Kimberly Birrell), and her opening slam match wasn't any better. Worse, actually. After taking a 3-0 lead, she was on the wrong end of an in-match double bagel against Bacsinszky. January more than set the tone for a disastrous 1st Quarter for the Russian, who has already fallen outside the Top 20 and parted ways with her coach (who coined the "Russian Wall" nickname last year) en route to a sloppy 2-7 start in tour-level matches. With a Premier Mandatory QF and two slam QF to defend by the end of the summer, things could get far worse before they get better.
...6-7(2)/6-4/6-4. The loss that assured that at the end of this season the Czechs will not have won at least two of three Fed Cup championships for the first time since the Maidens' dominant run began in 2011.
As the world's #1 doubles team, no matter what the Swarmettes did on the other side of the net (and how great the visitors' Romanian support system was in the stands), the two-time slam champion Czechs are quite simply *expected* to win a deciding doubles match on home soil. It was Krejcikova/Siniakova's first attempt at such a thing in Fed Cup play, though, which serves to remind us that this was the first tie for CZE since Barbora Strycova voluntarily decided to bring to a close her FC career. It didn't take long for her to be missed.
With the match tight deep into the 3rd, the Czechs finally seemed to find their groove with a break to get back on serve at 4-4. But rather than seize control in the closing games, they totally lost their grip on the match. The Romanians got the break back at love, won six straight points and eight of nine overall to close out the contest in 2:44, setting off yet another national tennis celebration. The win was Niculescu's 31st in FC play (15-10/16-11), the most ever in Romanian history.
'The desire, I wanted so much to win'
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 10, 2019
Monica Niculescu gave everything she had to help her country to victory#FedCup #CZEROU pic.twitter.com/vcd2L2Z8hU
===============================================
2. Australian Open 3rd Round - Amanda Anisimova def. Aryna Sabalenka 6-3/6-2
...the 17-year old's deep shots keep Sabalenka off balance, and she has no idea how to alter her fate. Coming off a title run in Shenzhen and about to make her Top 10 debut, Sabalenka saw just one BP on the Bannerette's serve all day long.
===============================================
3. Auckland 2nd Round - Bianca Andreescu def. Caroline Wozniacki 6-4/6-4
...it was the world #152 vs. #3, and it was the former whose power, slice, drop shots, defense and overall fight that seized control. Aggressive and handling the pressure of the moment like it was old hat, Andreescu recorded her first career Top 5 win in her nineth tour-level MD match. And the remarkable climb over the rest of her 1st Quarter was on.
===============================================
4. Brisbane 1st Round - Kimberly Birrell def. Dasha Kasatkina 5-7/6-4/7-6(3)
...just call it the upset that officially christened the 2019 season, as #283 Birrell knocked off #10 Kasatkina in 3:07, coming back from 5-3 down in the 3rd, then avoiding squandering the match by winning a deciding TB after she'd failed to serve things out. Thing is, *both* players ended up with just *two* tour-level MD wins in the 1st Quarter, as Kasatkina slipped outside the Top 20 while Birrell rose to within reach of the Top 150 over the first three months.
===============================================
5. Acapulco 2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Sloane Stephens 6-3/6-3
Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Stefanie Voegele def. Sloane Stephens 6-3/6-0
Miami 3rd Rd. - Tatjana Maria def. Sloane Stephens 6-3/6-2
...take your pick, or the group as a collective '19 trend. It seems as if Sloane (now without former coach Kamau Murray helping to bring things together) is either winning big titles or in a "transition phase," something she admitted to after the Voegele loss. The Maria defeat in Miami, where Stephens was the defending champion, drops her to 6-6 on the season.
===============================================
6. Auckland QF - Bianca Andreescu def. Venus Williams 6-7(1)/6-1/6-3
...there was no step back for Andreescu after upsetting Wozniacki. She simply followed up by beating a Williams, despite twice losing a break lead in the 1st set and falling behind a set and a break at 7-6/1-0. With one shoulder against the wall, the Canadian won eleven straight games until she led 5-0 in the 3rd, having broken Venus six straight times. Williams closed to 5-3, but Andreescu finished things out anyway. And, at least in one moment, the teenager's "drama queen" roots showed, too...
— Idris W Shepherd ?? (@ShepherdIdris) March 26, 2019===============================================
7. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Kristina Mladenovic def. Naomi Osaka
...6-3/6-3. In her first post-AO title match (unimportant), her first since becoming #1 (not *that* important) and her first since dropping coach Sascha Bajin after a ridiculously strong 13-months (we'll contiue to see) it was clear that Osaka wasn't quite all there for this one. Mladenovic got her first career #1 victory, but as the match played out it would have been one of her worst losses ever had the Pastry *not* gotten the upset as it was pretty much served up on a platter for the taking. Still, Mladenovic's own game was up and down enough that she gave Osaka multiple opportunities to pull herself back into the match. She never fully did, though, and Mladenovic held serve just enough times to get the victory. She lost a round later to CSN, and lost of five to end the 1Q.
===============================================
8. Fed Cup 1st Rd. Match #2 - Alize Cornet/FRA def. Elise Mertens/BEL
...7-6(6)/6-2. This was supposed to be Mertens' moment to shine, but was instead the inciting incident that set Belgium's course for a disappointing Fed Cup weekend. With the Belgians hosting a tie vs. their close-by French neighbors, the Waffle #1 was tasked with trying to lift the squad into the nation's first SF since 2011. With a 6-1 FC record, a little more than a year off her AO semifinal and having been ranked in the Top 15 in recent weeks, she seemed well designed to lead the way. Man, was that thought ever wrong. Facing off with Cornet, sporting a career .125 FC win percentage despite her vast talents (but largely because of all her personal intangibles that often criss-cross and trip her up), Mertens was well positioned to knot the tie at 1-1 then take her chances in match #3 vs. Caroline Garcia on Sunday. But after she squandered a break lead in the 1st set, missed on five BP chances at 4-4, served for the set, held three SP, DF'd on BP to head to a TB, then lost it 8-6 (the final point via another DF), Belgian Rumble turned to Belgian Crumble. And I don't mean some sort of tasty dessert, either.
===============================================
9. Australian Open 4th Round - Danielle Collins def. Angelique Kerber 6-0/6-2
...Angie never knew what hit her. With a 29-6 edge in winners, Collins blasts the #2 seed off the court. Collins went on to reach her first career slam semifinal.
===============================================
10. Dubai 1st Rd. - Zhu Lin def. Elise Mertens
...5-7/6-4/7-5. Zhu got her first in-season Top 100 breakthrough ranking as a result her upset Mertens just days after the Waffle had claimed her biggest career title in Doha.
===============================================
HM- Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Caroline Wozniacki
...7-5/2-6/7-5. The Dane finally played her first event since the the Australian Open, but her time in the desert was short. After failing to convert a BP for a double-break lead in the 3rd, Alexandrova still served for the match at 5-4, only to be broken. But rather than use the break as a match-turning moment, Wozniacki dropped serve at love a game later. The Russian then held her nerve to serve out the win, falling behind love/15 and 15/30, but from 30/30 firing her seventh ace and then finishing it off with a service winner. The win isn't the biggest for Alexandrova, as Wozniacki had slipped to #13. The Hordette defeated a then-Top 10 Ostapenko in Seoul last fall.
===============================================
'I'm the F'ing champion of Indian Wells!' - Bianca Andreescu (@Bandreescu_)
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 18, 2019
Full Video: https://t.co/rcLUKfhylC #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/MbQf9oy3PN
In my opinion all barbies should pose like this lol. pic.twitter.com/i28gdFUrCY
— NaomiOsaka????? (@Naomi_Osaka_) March 31, 2019
lil ash with big title pic.twitter.com/O8jYMCtcZJ
— Asparagus Hardcourterer (@samstennis189) March 30, 2019
If they think your dreams are crazy, show them what crazy dreams can do. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/m5xMlC3vhc
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 24, 2019
posted by Todd.Spiker @ 9:04 PM
3 Comments:
Ha! The hair on Osaka's Barbie.
Can there be a 14 player tie for 1Q? Note that in the last 20 years, we have never had this long of a streak. In 2005(Sharapova) and 2007(Henin), a player won their 2nd title in the 14th event. To show how the roadmap has changed things, that event was Doha both times, still held in mid Feb.
My players of the 1Q?
1.Halep-How can I pick somebody without a title? Because of what she represents. She has become the current Serena, the woman you have to go through to win. Even when not playing well, and smacking her leg with her racket, you can't shovel dirt on her until the scoreboard says so.
2.Bencic-Off the bench, and back as a starter, she wouldn't be the first to have talent wrecked by injuries, then randomly come back(see Pierce, Mary), but arguably has been the best big match player so far this year.
3.Osaka-It seems wrong to have a slam winner this low, but I also feel that Vondrousova(13-4) is having a better year. Case in point-both have reached finals, the difference is that Osaka won hers, while Marketa did not, though she was one of the two(Pliskova) IW QF to do so in Miami. But if Osaka can find some form heading into the French, the talk of both the Osaka Slam, or Grand Slam will start.
4.Mertens-Along with Kenin, the only person with a singles and doubles title this season. Hasn't been dominant in singles, but has been in doubles, so being Top 10 in both at some point this season isn't out of the question. Speaking of that....
5.Barty-The bridesmaid has become the bride. Known for struggling at the business end of tournaments, mainly because of power players, the last 6 months has seen her step up in class and improve to the point that they have to adjust to her game, not the other way around. Another on the short list of players that is a threat to win a slam in both disciples.
Ha! Last year, you had Kvitova on top for much of the season, but I could never quite do it. This Quarter I almost had her #1 (until I began the compare-and-contrast w/ Barty) and you didn't have her in the Top 5. It goes to show the (pick-a-number) Pick-up-Stix like state of the PoY race is at this point in '19.
I like using the "balance of power" line over the "parity" comment (used in a complimentary way) that I've seen... it's too easy for the usual suspects to nastily turn "parity" into "mediocrity," as we've seen that crowd try to label things in the past when no player dominates.
At this point, I'd have Halep (ROU FC aside) higher on the "MVP" list than Ms.Backspin. But the "power zone" of her season is probably the next five-six months (+FC).
Kvitova/Barty is one of the top matches of the year, but she is not in my Top 5 for now.
Should have added Sabalenka with Mertens/Kenin as the only players with a singles and doubles title.
Post a Comment
<< Home