Monday, April 08, 2019

Wk.14- Sweet Sixteen

One little, two little, three little champions
Four little, five little, six little champions
Seven little, eight little, nine little champions
(ummm)
Ten little, eleven little, twelve little champions
(uhh)
Thirteen little, fourteen little, fifteen little champions
(still? sheesh))
SIXTEEN little WTA champs



While the unprecedented string of one-time title winners (now at 16) continued in Week 14, some light at the end of the balance-of-power tunnel appeared in Charleston and Monterrey as some of the "usual suspects" finally put themselves in contention for crowns. Four former #1's reached at least the semifinal stage this week, with three reaching singles finals and one winning a crown, along with another (fairly) recent slam finalist.

Such a streak, while it speaks to the multi-generational depth of the tour, is something of a "dangerous" trend, though. Under such circumstance, it's easy for the you-knows-who's to climb out their personal tar pits and sling all the regular insults that generally tell you more about those criticizing than any of the those being denigrated. Of course, at least in 2019 it's more difficult for the less-than-creative to find their time-honored footing since it's been a *sport-wide* phenomenon... with the only two-time winner on the men's tour being a 37-year old all-time great.

(I'll leave it to your own imagination -- or maybe just recent recollection -- what the style of attacks on the women's tour might be if one of *its* late-thirtysomethings was its only multiple title winner more than a quarter into a season.)

Of course, at least on the WTA side of things, one of the reasons for this situation is the oddity of what's happenend to so many of the 2018 Top 10er so far in 2019. Simona Halep missed an entire offseason of training with a back injury and has taken her time hitting full stride, while Elina Svitolina, normally a reliably-on-schedule singles champion, hasn't gone this far into a new without lifting a trophy since 2015. Caroline Wozniacki, the Australian Open champ a season ago, has had to deal with an arthritic condition. Dasha Kasatkina has gotten off to a woeful start, while Sloane Stephens results have characteristically been a week-in, week-out mystery (and she's bleepin' tired of it, too). And that's not even counting Serena Williams, who didn't even finish last season in the Top 10. She hasn't finished a tournament without being injured in three attempts this year.

Fact is, though, the Most Interesting Tour has actually been more interesting than usual through the first three-plus months of this season as new faces from new places have taken the opportunity to introduce themselves to those who've been willing to pay attention. It's a development that will serve to provide yet another layer of drama -- and known personalities -- to deal with as the long season plays out.

Imagine what things might be like as the slow-starting established stars finally begin to fire up.




*WEEK 14 CHAMPIONS*
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA USA (Premier/Green Clay Outdoor)
S: Madison Keys/USA def. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN 7-6(5)/6-3
D: Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Alicja Rosolska (GER/POL) def. Irina Khromacheva/Veronika Kudermetova (RUS/RUS) 7-6(7)/6-2
MONTERREY, MEXICO (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Garbine Muguruza/ESP def. Victoria Azarenka/BLR 6-1/3-1 ret.
D: Asia Muhammad/Maria Sanchez (USA/USA) def. Monique Adamczak/Jessica Moore (AUS/AUS) 7-6(2)/6-4




PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Madison Keys/USA
...it's always a dangerous prospect to ever say that any result might finally catapult Keys to the "land of greater things" that so many have predicted her to (eventually) inhabit for so many years. But, well, we may be *there* again. Or at least what just happened in Charleston could mean we may be legitimately on "Madison Watch" come the grass and summer hard court season in a few months time.

Injuries, inconsistency and an ever-changing coaching situation -- sometimes one at a time, at others in multiple combinations -- have always left Keys as something of an "incomplete" phenomenon. The skills have been good enough to dream of slam titles and #1 rankings, but she's always come up just short of such goals, as well as the sort of sustained high-level excellence that would make one honestly believe that attaining such things was just a matter of time. A career fait accompli, if you will.

We've been here before, only to witness one "reset" after another that have resulted in Keys often occupying the WTA ranking "purgatory" between #11 and #20, even as she's remained a "big event" player who reached a pair of slam semis in '18 even while going title-less and barely holding onto a Top 20 ranking.

Good enough to be great, but not yet great enough to be remove any lingering doubts.

She won her maiden title in Eastbourne in 2014. (Here she comes!) But it took two years for her to get #2. Her first Premier crown came in Birmingham in 2016. (Look out for Madison now!) But it took her fourteen months to win another. Her U.S. Open final run in 2017 seemed to signal that Keys was ready to live up to her advanced billing, too. But it took her nineteen months to reach another final: this week's title run in Charleston.

So, we begin again. And, naturally, yet another coaching switch accompanies the moment, as Keys has reconnected with Juan Todero, who previously coached her in 2013-14. (It reveals something nice about the no-bridges-burned Keys that her coaches often return to the fold, but it also begs the question why the revolving door always seems to be in such a constantly spinning state.)

There were certainly enough important signposts over the past week to lead one to believe that Keys may have crossed some sort of threshold. Commentator Lindsay Davenport, another who has taken a turn (or two) as a Keys instructor in recent years, certainly tried her best to put forth the notion this weekend that, finally, Madison may be ready for more. Her comeback from a set and and 4-1 down in the 2nd Round against Tatjana Maria instilled a confidence in tight moments that lasted all week. A win over Alona Ostapenko preceded the breaking of Keys' 0-3 record (and 0-for-6 sets) vs. good friend Sloane Stephens. Next came a semifinal win over Monica Puig, who only recently ended a long coaching relationship with Todero. In the final, her second (w/ 2015) in Charleston, Keys ended another oh-fer streak vs. Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane was 2-0 with a pair of straight sets wins in their head-to-head, but Keys won this time around 7-6(5)/6-3, firing 54 winners to claim her first career clay court crown.

It is the start of something big? Finally. Don't hold your breath... but don't dismiss the possibility, either.


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RISERS: Garbine Muguruza/ESP and Monica Puig/PUR
...the thought heading into 2019 was that Muguruza's disappointing '18 campaign would likely mean a return to Top 10 form in the new season. After a respectable 8-3 start, the Spaniard's recent outings could be a sign that greater things really *do* await the two-time slam champ over the season's remaining months.

Though she did have a one-and-out Miami cameo, Muguruza posted a pair of Top 10 wins in Indian Wells (Serena's retirement, plus a victory over Kiki Bertens), her first since last February. This week in Monterrey she completed her first successful title defense, taking career crown #7 by stringing together wins over Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Margarita Gasparyan, Kristina Mladenovic and Magdalena Rybarikova to reach her first final in a year, then winning it when an injured Victoria Azarenka retired mid-way through the 2nd set. After seasons in which she finished at #3, #7 and #2, Muguruza slipped to #18 last year and arrived in Mexico at #19. Had she lost the final she'd have dropped to #21, her first time outside the Top 20 since mid-2015, the third-longest active streak on tour behind those of Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.

It may not be Paris or London, but it's a start.



Puig's Olympic Gold medal run in 2016 was a remarkable thing, and still stands a good chance to be the decade's Best Performance winner. But the Puerto Rican has never really effectively followed up her stunning accomplishment in Rio. After posting a Round of 16 and three 3rd Round results at slams before the Olympics, she's done no better than the 2nd Round at any major since, and reached just one tour final ('17 Luxembourg). After an encouraging 14-4 stretch last summer, she came to Charleston having gone just 3-9 in WTA MD matches since reaching the Wuhan QF last September. After recently ending a long coaching stint with Juan Todero and joining up with former Sloane Stephens coach Kamau Murray, though, things appear to be on the upswing, though it didn't really reflect in her results until this week. And what a nice week it was. Puig opened by allowing just one game to Sara Errani, then handled two '19 title winners (Sonya Kenin and Aryna Sabalenka) and an AO semifinalist (Danielle Collins) in straight sets on her way to her first Premier semifinal since her summer surge last year (New Haven). She lost there to eventual champion Madison Keys, but with the *next* Olympics now a little more than a year away Puig has to be both newly encouraged and excited about where the teaming with Murray might eventually lead.

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It was a great day to have a great day! ????

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SURPRISES: Greta Arn/HUN and Petra Martic/CRO
...Arn came into the light from the tennis shadows this week in Monterrey. Days away from her 40th birthday, the Hungarian had returned from her 2014 retirement in mid-2017, but unless they were paying attention to the challenger circuit over the past year most people likely had no idea the two-time WTA title winner and former world #40 (in 2011) had ever picked up a racket again.

Fact is, Arn qualified and reached a $25K semi in her second event, a $25K final that September, and won a $60K in October. After playing two matches over the first half of last season, come late summer she hit something of a stride, posting three straight $25K semifinal results. Still, the 39-year old was just 2-3 in '19 heading into the week, though her last outing in late February had displayed a hint of something more. It included a Budapest Q-run and her first tour-level MD match (a three-set loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova) since the 2013 Australian Open.

Her path in Monterrey was a crooked one. Arn actually lost in the final round of qualifying to Beatriz Haddad Maia, but got a spot in the MD anyway as a lucky loser. Her three-set win over Lara Arruabarrena -- at 39 years and 355 days -- may have made her the oldest LL winner in tour history. She lost in a not-close match a round later to Kiki Mladenovic, but the win will bump her #403 ranking up 46 spots to #357. And now everyone knows she's back, too.

Arn's fortieth birthday arrives on April 13.



In Charleston, the oft-injured Martic (who was hampered by a leg injury by the end of the week) recorded her first career Premier semifinal result during week that saw her athletic game take down the likes of Amanda Anisimova, Mandy Minella, Jessica Pegula and Belinda Bencic before finally meeting up with an in-form Caroline Wozniacki. The Croat's run ended a win short of a Cinderella final berth, but it continues a true resurgence that's taken place over the last two years and has included three slam 4th Rounds and a 3rd ('19 AO) in the last eight majors after she hadn't recorded a MD slam win since 2013. Last year at Indian Wells, Martic's win over Ostapenko was her first over a Top 10 player in six years. She soon reached her second career WTA singles final in Bucharest, and won a 125 title in Chicago in September. This January, Martic reached a career high of #31. Having slipped to #53 coming in to Charleston, the 28-year old will jump back up to #40 on Monday.

And, of course, she wowed the Charleston fans with shots like these...




There have been quite a few inspiring, know-your-athlete changeover coaching sessions this season. Sandra Zaniewska provided another during the struggling Martic's semi vs. Wozniacki, as she focused her charge on the positives of the moment rather than any negatives associated with what rightly seemed to be an inevitable defeat...



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VETERANS: Victoria Azarenka/BLR and Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...first off, it was a very good week for Vika.



Was it as great as it might have been? Well, no. But it's been a very emotional year (years, really) for Azarenka, and this week in Monterrey was no different. Right up until the end.

While a calf injury ultimately caused her to retire down 6-1/3-1 in the final against Garbine Muguruza, Azarenka posted previous wins over four-time champ Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Angelique Kerber in a wonderful night match on Saturday that ended Vika's six-match losing streak vs. the Top 10, gave her her first Top 5 win since knocking off Kerber in Miami three years ago, and placed her into her first singles final since she won the "Sunshine Double" in 2016, as well as for the first time since she came back from maternity leave (and then had to fight for custody of son Leo in court). When she lost in the Australian Open in January, Azarenka tearfully proclaimed her frustration about all the work she'd been doing off the court not having yet resulted in a turnaround *on* it. That's been changing in recent weeks (largely in doubles, as she won in Acapulco with Zhang Shuai and reached the Miami semis with Ash Barty), and certainly did so on the singles side this week.

The road back has been long. Far longer and more crooked than anyone rightly could have imagined.



Vika's not *there* yet. But she may finally be able to see *there* -- in whatever form it might take -- from here. She'll edge back into the Top 60 on Monday. And it's still only April.



Wozniacki, too, has had to find ways overcome in order to find her way back into the WTA spotlight. In her case, her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis last year has led to her figuring out how to work around her condition while still practicing enough to be a force on the court. 2019 hadn't been a banner season for the Dane coming into Charleston. Failing to defend her AO crown, she was just 5-4 in the WTA 1st Quarter and hadn't reached a QF since winning in Beijing last September. She recently fell out of the Top 10 after an 88-week stay. Bringing along no less than Francesca Schiavone with her to South Carolina as a part of her team for the clay court season, Wozniacki rounded into sometimes lethal form on the green courts. Wins over Laura Siegemund, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Maria Sakkari and Petra Martic got her into her 55th career final. If she'd won out over Madison Keys she'd have broken Martina Navratilova's tournament record with an eight-year gap between Charleston crowns, having won in 2011 the month before her most recent clay court title run in Brussels. But she fell in straights to the Bannerette, her seventh career loss in eleven tour-level clay finals. Wozniacki will inch up a spot to #12 in the rankings on Monday, with no SF-or-better results to defend this spring on the dirt. With a certain Italian in her corner, Caro & Co. might be onto something very good.


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COMEBACKS: Shelby Rogers/USA and Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
...thirteen months after going down with a knee injury, Rogers returned to the tour in her hometown tournament in Charleston, taking the court for the first time since Indian Wells last year. It wasn't just a ceremonial "Welcome Back!" party, either, as the former world #48 posted a 1st Round win over Evgeniya Rodina. "I didn't know I could feel this many emotions at one time," she told Tennis Channel after the match. "Obviously I love the sport so much. It's just been a long road." After christening her comeback with a victory, Rogers very nearly got another against Alona Ostapenko a round later. Rogers served for the win at 5-1 and 5-3 in the 3rd set, holding a MP, only to see Ostapenko go "classic Latvian Thunder" and begin to fire winners and reel off five straight games and serve for the match at 6-5. Rogers forced a TB, which Ostapenko won 7-4. While some expected her to be crushed by the defeat, she was instead upbeat.



Meanwhile in Monterrey, the oft-physiclly hindered Rybarikova for the first time in what seems like ages gave a brief hint of what she's capable of on a tennis court. The former Wimbledon semifinalist emerged from Indian Wells riding a nine-match losing streak, having not won since getting an in-match retirement from CoCo Vandeweghe last summer in New Haven (in all, she'd gone 2-14 since her Birmingham RU last June). But she finally got back on the board in Miami with a victory over Natalia Vikhlyantseva via a 3rd set tie-break win (she lost to Julia Goerges in the 2nd Rd.), and the Slovak followed up this week with victories over Misaki Doi (after trailing down 6-2/3-0), Stefanie Voegele and Sachia Vickery to reach her first semifinal since Birmingham.

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Semifinals ???? @abiertognpseguros #monterrey #mexico

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FRESH FACES: Maria Sakkari/GRE, Taylor Townsend/USA and Kaja Juvan/SLO
...Sakkari has been playing something of a game of coaching hot potato in recent months (moving on from Thomas Johansson last year to Mark Petchey and Tom Hill). After a summer stretch that included a tour final in San Jose and a Seoul semifinal, the 23-year old Greek ended last season on a five-match losing streak that dipped her '18 season record under .500. Despite a 3rd Round result in Melbourne (w/ a win over Ostapenko), Sakkari came into Charleston having lost three of four. She rediscovered some measure of success on the green clay, posting wins over Conny Perrin, former tournament winner Andrea Petkovic and defending champ Kiki Bertens (career Top 10 win #3) before falling to Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals.



Townsend, 22, hasn't exactly followed up her good spring/summer run of '18 -- two $80K and a $25K title, two $80K semis and back-to-back-back 1st Round slam wins in Paris, SW19 and Flushing Meadows -- with a quick '19 start, but she's managed to clock some course-straightening results on home soil in recent weeks. A Miami qualifying run included a MD victory, and in Charleston she topped Astra Sharma and '18 finalist Julia Goerges (her first Top 20 win) before falling to Belinda Bencic in the 3rd Round.



After getting past some early season injury issues, Backspin's 2019 "Player Whose Name You'll Know..." has started to get hot. A week ago, 18-year old Slovenian Juvan reached her first final of the season at the $25K in Pula, Italy. She lost to Swiss Jill Teichmann, but played another event in the city this week and has advanced her to 12th career ITF final (she's 6-5 so far). Due to weather issues, the final against Swarmette Alexandra Cadantu won't be played until Monday. Juvan swept the Gold medals at last year's Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, defeating Wang Xinyu in the semis and girls year-end #1 Clara Burel in the final while also teaming with Iga Swiatek to take the GD.

NOTE: Juvan won 6-1/3-0 ret.


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DOWN: Sabine Lisicki/GER
...injuries have always been a constant companion during Lisicki's tennis career. In recent seasons, they've transformed the now 29-year old German from a near-Top 10er (#12 high) and slam dark horse (mostly at Wimbledon, where she's had a 2013 RU, 2011 SF and 2009/12/14 QF) into something of an afterthought. After six straight Top 100 seasons, and 6/8 Top 50 finishes, Lisicki ended the past two years ranked outside the Top 200 due to numerous injury breaks. She ended '18 by reaching a WTA 125 final, her first on any level since a WTA title in Hong Kong in 2014, but has failed to carry over that momentum into the new year. Her Q1 loss at the Australian Open gave her three straight qualifying open round losses in majors, and combined with her previous 1st Round exits she's dropped seven straight at slam events. She came into Charleston, where she was crowned champion a decade ago, ranked #299 and without a win this season. Things didn't miraculously turn around for her. Instead she fell in the 1st Round to Sonya Kenin, dropping Lisicki to 0-4 in 2019, and 7-16 since her Wimbledon '18 return following a three-month injury-related absence (with four of those wins coming during her 125 final run).

But Lisicki endures, even in what was her final game in Charleston, but her first match on clay in three years...



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ITF PLAYERS: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE, Vitalia Diatchenko/RUS and Daria Snigur/UKR
...Krejcikova may be one of the top doubles players in the world, but she hasn't put away her singles racket and ambitions. This week in Palm Harbor, Florida the 23-year old Czech picked up her biggest career singles crown in the $80K challenger held there. After dropping the 1st set of her opening match to Ingrid Neel, Krejcikova didn't drop another all week and closed out the event with a dominant 6-1/6-0 win over Nicole Gibbs in the final. It's Krejcikova's tenth career challenger win, but her first since 2015. She reached her only tour-level singles final in Nuremberg in 2017.



Diatchenko took the season circuit lead with her fourth 2019 challenger title on indoor hardcourts at the $25K in Bolton, England. The Hordette prevailed while not dropping a set all week, finishing off with consecutive wins over young Pole Maja Chwalinska, Waffle Greet Minnen and teen Brit Jodie Anna Burrage in a 6-2/6-2 final. It's the Russian's 17th ITF crown to go along with a WTA 125 title she won in 2014. 23-5 on all levels on the season, the 28-year old has climbed into the Top 100 through the season's first three-plus months. While she's ranked as high as #71 (November '14), largely due to injury, new #95 Diatchenko has never completed a Top 100 campaign in her decade-long career.

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One more????????

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17-year old Snigur, who opened the season with an Australian Open girls semifinal run (she lost to eventual champ Clara Tauson), has carried over that initial success to the challenger circuit as the season has gone on. This week in the $25K event in Kashiwa, Japan the Ukrainian grabbed her second title of the season with a 4 & 2 win over Canada's Rebecca Marino (who'll still climb into the Top 200) in the final. Technically, Snigur hasn't lost an actual match in a pro event since September, having won twenty-four consecutive times (of course, while she's 10-0 in '19, this "streak" does include a walkover "loss" in a $15K, as well as an unplayed final due to bad weather in another challenger last December).


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JUNIOR STARS: Hurricane Tyra Black/USA, Emma Navarro/USA and Daria Frayman/RUS
...Black, 18, defended her title at the International Spring Championships Grade 1 in Carson, California. The #1 seed, Black swept through five opponents in straight sets to reach the final, where she defeated unseeded Connie Ma 6-2/4-6/6-3 to take the crown once again. Ma, 15, had been looking to win this event after having already claimed the USTA's Winter Championships title in early January, when she became just the third girl to sweep the 18s singles and doubles title at the event.



Navarro swept the S/D titles at the Easter Bowl in Indian Wells a week ago, earning WC berths into the MD in Charleston, where her dad just so happened to be taking over as the owner of the Volvo Open starting with this year's event. Nice how that worked out, huh? The 17-year old held up her end of the deal, too, pushing veteran Laura Siegemund in the 1st Round, even holding a SP in what turned out to be a straight sets loss. In doubles, she and Chloe Beck, with whom she also reached the Australian Open girls doubles final in January, reached the QF after upsetting Darija Jurak & Alona Ostapenko in a 13-11 match tie-break in the 1st Round.




The week's other Grade 1 junior event champion has yet to be decided, but the Perin Memorial in Vrsar, Croatia will pit Malta's Helene Pellicano against Russian Daria Frayman. Pellicano, 16, became the first player from her tiny nation to be crowned a European tennis champion when she won the continent's 14s title in 2016. Currently #44 in the junior rankings, she's seeking her first career G1 title (she'd never previously reached the SF stage) after winning a trio of three-set matches en route to the final. 17-year old Frayman, the girls #71, is also seeking her maiden G1 crown. She's reached the final after winning five straight sets matches, including upsetting Latvia's Kamilla Bartone in the semis.

NOTE: Frayman won 7-6(7)/2-6/7-5
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DOUBLES: Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Alicja Rosolska (GER/POL) and Asia Muhammad/Maria Sanchez (USA/USA)
...Charleston's winners are another example of an uncommon duo prevailing over the pack to lift the champions' trophies. The difference between Groenefeld & Rosolska and the other first-time partnerships of '19 is that they aren't actually a first-time pair, just a rare one. Success this week was hardly a good bet, as during the brief stretches the two teamed up in 2014-15 they only went 3-8. They won four times in Charleston, though, never losing a set and giving up just 5, 1 and 3 games en route to the final. Irina Khromacheva & Veronika Kudermetova put up eight games in the final alone, but still lost 7-6(7)/6-2. The win is the 17th in ALG's career, while Rosolska (who reached the Wimbledon WD semis and U.S. Open MX final last year) now has nine tour-level crowns. A combined 66 years (33 each) in age, they're the second oldest doubles champions on tour in '19, though the total of the oldest (by two years) -- Nicole Melichar & Kveta Peschke in Brisbane -- is taken up mostly by the Czech's 43 years vs. her 25-year old Bannerette partner.



In Monterrey, one of 2018's under-the-radar doubles success stories added another good result to their personal history. Muhammad & Sanchez took the title this week without losing a set, doing so after last season winning in Quebec City, reaching a WTA 125 final in Chicago and taking home three more titles (including a $100K) on the ITF circuit. They won their first title together on the challenger circuit in 2014. The 7-6(2)/6-4 win in the Monterrey final over Aussies Monique Adamczak & Jessica Moore gives Muhammad four WTA titles to Sanchez's three. Earlier this season, Sanchez won the Guadalajara WTA 125 title with Fanny Stollar.


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WHEELCHAIR: Jordanne Whiley/GBR
...the Brit's comeback continues. Whiley swept the singles and doubles titles at the Series 2 event in Busan, South Korea, defeating #1 seed Lucy Shuker in the QF and #4 Manami Tanaka in the semis, then taking the title with a victory over #5 Momoko Ohtani in a 6-4/6-1 final. She teamed with Shuker to win the doubles.

Since returning from her pregnancy break earlier this season, '15 U.S. Open champ Whiley has gone 17-1 in singles (winning three titles) and 10-2 in doubles (winning two).



Meanwhile, in Morocco...


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So you want to be a tennis player...

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“During a tournament in Mexico two years ago, after playing against this big hitter, both my arms were sore for about four days. I thought it was normal and something I had to deal with. Everyone just diagnosed it as tendonitis. After getting through the clay and grass with pain doctors prescribed anti-inflammatories, which did help. I went off them, just before Asia, when I thought I was on these pills for too long. I took about 2-3 weeks off during preseason and then did some strengthening. I was at my career high ranking and wanted to continue the momentum. I went into 2017 playing Doha and Dubai. During Dubai I literally felt my elbow crack. It was now Indian Wells and the discomfort in my wrist and elbow was at an all time high. I was fed up with unqualified doctors and went to the Mayo Clinic to get the highest quality MRI. This doctor found three tears in my wrist and that one of the bones in my wrist was too long which caused the tears and impaction. The first surgery ended up solely repairing the tears, as he did not see the original impaction anymore. Shortly after healing my elbow started killing. A doctor examined it and found that two bone spurs hit each other every time I straightened my elbow, and the main one was fractured. This was the crack I felt in Dubai. The bone needed to be shaven down. It was a simple surgery and I got back to playing, but it wasn’t over. Pain returned in my wrist from ‘one of the worst impactions ever’. The doctor apologized for not doing the surgery earlier but now it was a must. They basically cut my bone in half, shortened it, and then put a plate in. This took some real time before I started hitting, but once I got to the baseline something was wrong. I received this swelling on my arm every time I played. We figured out the plate in my arm was too big, causing inflammation and aggravation. I got the plate out last Monday and that’s where I am now. The hardest things have been hitting and getting close to normality and then just being totally set back. There is no way I can do this anymore, but tennis is everything to me. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t love this sport.”

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1. Monterrey SF - Victoria Azarenka def. Angelique Kerber
...6-4/4-6/6-1. Again, Kerber is bested in three sets on North American hard courts. The German led the 1st 3-1, only to see Vika win five of six to take the match lead. Kerber led 3-1 again in the 3rd, but was broken serving at 5-2 and didn't secure a SP at 5-3. Finally, she sent things to 3rd on SP #3 a game later. But that was all she wrote. Azarenka jumped ahead early in the 3rd, and built upon her lead until she led 5-0 against an increasingly grouchy Kerber, who fell to 1-8 vs. the Belarusian after their first meeting in three years.
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2. Charleston QF - Madison Keys def. Sloane Stephens
...7-6(6)/4-6/6-2. In a match that loaded up on breaks of serve, Keys held her nerve in all the big moments and got a win over Stephens to break her career-long record of futility against her friend, teammate and fellow U.S. Open finalist. In the 1st set, Keys battled back from a break down three times. Stephens served at 6-5 only to be forced to a TB. Keys led 4-0, then dropped the next six points, but staved off two SP while winning the final four to claim the set.



And some people got bent out of shape because of *this.* (Big eye roll.) Context is everything, people.


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3. Charleston 1st Rd. - Shelby Rogers def. Evgeniya Rodina
...6-3/6-2. For Rogers, home really did turn out to be where the heart is after thirteen months out of action.


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4. Charleston 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Shelby Rogers
...4-6/6-3/7-6(4). While it didn't ultimately mean anything in *this* tournament, Ostapenko's winner-fueled comeback could prove to be significant for her season, especially as she enters the clay season vowing to play "fearless" once more. Rogers served for the match at 5-1 and 5-3 in the 3rd set, holding a MP. But the Latvian ran off five straight games and served for it at 6-5. She dropped serve and things went to a TB, but she wasn't to be denied.


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5. Charleston Final - Madison Keys def. Caroline Wozniacki
...7-6(5)/6-3. Make that two Bannerette champions, and three from North America, in 2019. None named Williams. None named Stephens. Yet, at least.


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6. Monterrey 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Anna Blinkova 6-0/6-3
Monterrey 2nd Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Ivana Jorovic 6-0/6-0
Monterrey QF - Victoria Azarenka def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0/6-4
...of course she did.
===============================================
7. Monterrey 1st Rd. - Nao Hibino def. Giuliana Olmos
...4-6/6-1/7-6(5). Even in defeat, another sign that Olmos may now be *the* Mexican player to watch.
===============================================
8. Monterrey Final - Garbine Muguruza def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-1/3-1 ret. Garbi's championship reaction was far more subdued than last year's version, but that sort of goes with the territory under the circumstances.



===============================================
9. Monterrey 1st Rd. - Greta Arn def. Lara Arruabarrena
...7-5/3-6/7-5. Yep.



===============================================
10. Charleston 2nd Rd. - Mihaela Buzarnescu def. Lauren Davis
...6-3/6-2. The Swarmette posted two wins before falling to Wozniacki in three sets in the 3rd Round. It's Buzarnescu's first multiple-win event since she won the San Jose title last August. Before Charleston, she'd gone 2-14 since her title run.
===============================================
11. Charleston 3rd Rd. - Taylor Townsend def. Belinda Bencic
...6-2/7-5. Memories...


===============================================
12. $15K Sharm El Sheikh Final - Ipek Soylu def. Magali Kempen
...7-6(2)/6-4. Make it two in a row for the Turk.


===============================================
HM- Lugano Q1 - Clara Tauson def. Rebecca Sramkova
...6-1/6-2. The AO girls champ and junior #1 finally makes her WTA tournament debut, and it's a dominant one. The 16-year old Dane won 20-of-25 1st serve points, and 12-of-13 on the 2nd.

NOTE: Tauson on Monday defeated Tereza Mrdeza to reach her first WTA MD


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


View this post on Instagram

Progress!!!???? I thought I would brave the judgment,negativity and scrutiny that sometimes comes with being in the public eye and on social media and put myself and my struggles out there and hopefully inspire,motivate and help others,especially women. The photo on the left and the start of my weight loss journey is a hard one to post and look at.I was unhealthy and unfit but even more importantly I was so unhappy,with no confidence.I didn’t want to go out of the house and I even turned down work opportunities because I was so insecure and unhappy. That’s where @jennycraigausnz comes in and they have changed my life.I didn’t know what I was in for when I first tried the program but very quickly I discovered just how easy and convenient it is and just how tasty the food is.I love the fact that my food portions are all set with almost no prep time and more than 70 menu items to choose from without jeopardising my weight loss. My favourite part is having my own consultant who I get to see once a week and who supports me every step of the way.That support has been life changing.Not just from my consultant but from the whole team at @jennycraigausnz . That is what I love the most with @jennycraigausnz ,it’s a team effort and you feel like you are a part of the family and you are all on the weight loss journey together. It’s not just about weight loss either but about having a healthy and balanced lifestyle and developing healthy but sustainable habits for the rest of your life. While I don’t want to talk about the kilos too much,I have lost almost 20 kilos between the 2nd and 3rd picture alone.All due to @jennycraigausnz and their incredible Rapid Results program. I hope I can inspire and motivate you all.No matter what you are trying to achieve,IT CAN BE DONE.I am half way on my weight loss journey and very excited about what is ahead. Thank you @jennycraigausnz . #jennycraigausnz #fitnessmotivation #myjennycraigjourney #weightlossjourney #weightloss #journey #weightlosstransformation #transformation #progress #fitness #health #healthy #healthylifestyle #lifestyle #inspiration #motivation #healthyfood #jennycraig #australia #inspo #fitspo #inspo #healthylife #women

A post shared by JELENA DOKIC ???????????? (@dokic_jelena) on








1. Charleston Q2 - NADIIA KICHENOK def. Caroline Dolehide
...7-6(3)/4-6/7-6(10). Kichenok saves 2 MP to reach her first WTA MD since Florianopolis in August '16. That week in Brazil, she defeated twin sister Lyudmyla to reach the MD, where she lost to Alona Ostapenko. In Charleston, she fell to fellow qualifier Martina Trevisan in the 1st Round and is still seeking her first tour-level MD win since defeating Sharon Fichman in Birmingham in 2014. Lyudmyla, in case you were wondering, lost her Q1 match to Lauren Davis in Charleston.


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






















































**"QUEEN OF MEXICO" WINNERS - Acapulco/Guadalajara 125/Monterrey**
2015 Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (won Acap/Mont WS)
2016 A.Medina-Garrigues/A.Parra-Santonja, ESP (won Acap/Mont WD)
2017 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (4-time Mont.WS)
2018 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (2 con. Acapulco WS)
2019 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2 con. Monterrey WS)
[2nd place]
2015 Caroline Garcia, FRA (RU Acap/Mont WS)
2016 Sloane Stephens, USA (Acap) & Heather Watson, GBR (Mont)
2017 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (Acapulco WS)
2018 Giuliana Olmos, MEX (first MEX player in Mont.WD F)
2019 Maria Sanchez, USA (Guadalajara & Monterrey WD W)

*2019 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
1...Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Indian Wells)
1...Ash Barty, AUS (Miami)
1...Belinda Bencic, SUI (Dubai)
1...Kiki Bertens, NED (Saint Petersburg)
1...Julia Goerges, GER (Auckland)
1...Sonya Kenin, USA (Hobart)
1...Madison Keys, USA (Charleston)
1...Petra Kvitova, CZE (Sydney)
1...Elise Mertens, BEL (Doha)
1...Garbine Muguruza, ESP (Monterrey)
1...Naomi Osaka, JPN (Australian Open)
1...Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Brisbane)
1...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Shenzhen)
1...Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL (Budapest)
1...Wang Yafan, CHN (Acapulco)
1...Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
[WTA 125]
1...Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Newport Beach)
1...Viktorija Golubic, SUI (Indian Wells)
1...Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (Guadalajara)

*WTA ALL-TIME SEASONS-WITH-TITLE STREAKS*
21 - Martina Navratilova (1974-94)
18 - Chris Evert (1971-88)
14 - Steffi Graf (1986-99)
13 - Maria Sharapova (2003-15)
11 - Evonne Goolagong (1970-80)
11 - Virginia Wade (1968-78)
11 - Serena Williams (2007-17)
11 - Caroline Wozniacki (2008-18)*
[current active streaks w/ 2019 titles]
9 years - Petra Kvitova (2011-19)
7 years - Karolina Pliskova (2013-19)
6 years - GARBINE MUGURUZA (2014-19)
[current streaks w/o 2019 title]
11 years - Caroline Wozniacki (2008-18)
6 years - Elina Svitolina (2013-18)
6 years - Simona Halep (2013-18)

*2015-19 WTA FINALS*
20 - 5/3/5/6/1...Halep (10-10)
18 - 6/4/3/2/2...Ka.Pliskova (9-9)
18 - 3/2/8/4/1...WOZNIACKI (8-10)
17 - 5/8/1/2/1...Kerber (9-8)
16 - 4/3/1/5/3...Kvitova (12-4)
13 - 1/3/5/4/0...Svitolina (11-2)
13 - 5/5/1/2/0...S.Williams (8-5)
[active career]
94...Serena Williams, USA
83...Venus Williams, USA
59...Maria Sharapova, RUS
55...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI,DEN (1)
41...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
37...VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR (1)

*2019 SUCCESSFUL TITLE DEFENSES*
Auckland WS - Julia Goerges, GER
Budapest WS - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
MONTERREY WS - GARBINE MUGURUZA, ESP
[also]
Hopman Cup - SUI
Australian Open WC - Diede de Groot, NED

*2019 OLDEST WD CHAMPIONS*
43 - Kveta Peschke, CZE (Auckland, w/ Melichar)
34 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (AO, w/ Sh.Zhang)
34 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (Budapest, w/ Alexandrova)
33 - ANNA-LENA GROENEFELD, GER (CHARLESTON, w/ Rosolska)
33 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Dubai, w/ Strycova)
33 - ALICJA ROSOLSKA, POL (CHARLESTON, w/ Groenefeld)
32 - Peng Shuai, CHN (Shenzhen, w/ Yang Zhaoxuan)
32 - Barbora Strycova, CZE (Dubai, w/ Hsieh)

*2019 OLDEST WD DUO FINALISTS*
68...Nicole Melichar/Kveta Peschke (25/43) = Brisbane W
66...GROENEFELD/ROSOLSKA (33/33) = CHARLESTON W
65...Hsieh/Strycova (33/32) = Dubai W
65...Stosur/Zhang (35/30) = Miami L

*RECENT USTA SPRING NATIONALS CHAMPIONS*
2016 Kayla Day, USA
2017 Carson Branstine, CAN
2018 Hurricane Tyra Black, USA
2019 Hurricane Tyra Black, USA

*AZARENKA IN-MATCH RETIREMENTS - AS FULL-TIME PRO*
2006 (1) Pittsburgh ITF
2007 (2) Hobart, Prague
2008 (3) Hobart, Rome, Easbourne
2009 (2) Australian, WTA Chsp.
2010 (6) Marbella, Charleston, Madrid, Montreal, US Open, Beijing
2011 (4) Indian Wells, Stuttgart, Rome, Eastbourne
2012 (1) Montreal
2013 -
2014 -
2015 (2) Cincinnati, Wuhan [also: Birmingham & Wash.DC w/o]
2016 (1) Roland Garros [also: Acapulco & Madrid w/o]
2017 -
2018 (2) San Jose, Tokyo PPO
2019 (1) Monterrey



















All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:26 AM 

6 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Keys and Muguruza winning the same week is probably poetic justice. Both make it look so easy when it is on, but....

Muguruza, the "clay courter" wins another event on hard. On why that is such a bad moniker? She played the event on hard the same week as Charleston, an event in which she has never won a match. She has played once, back in 2019, losing to Pegula.

Keys has now gone SF or better in 3 of her last 6 clay events. But don't pick her for the next one. Has not gone SF or better in back to back events since SF runs in both Beijing and Linz in 2016.

Kuznetsova starts her season in Lugano, though had dropped the 1st set as of this writing.

Lisicki's movement is questionable, but her strokes are good.

Was going to pick Maria in Colombia, but she pulled out after the draw, as well as Martic. 4 LL in the draw, and if Schmiedlova doesn't repeat, probably a first time winner as only 2 title winners are in bottom of draw, and they play each other Babos/Arruabarrena.

Did Schiavone teach Wozniacki that tweener? Good addition to the team.

Last but not least-It happened. WTA.COM listed the Top 43 women in Madrid draw. Venus is 5 out. So that leaves 3 options-1.Withdraw. 2. Ask for WC. 3. Play Q-rounds. Note-all 43 in means that Serena, Elina, and Maria are still in, and they are big question marks as of now.

So what do I think will happen? That Venus might pull a Sharapova and avoid qualifying? Yes, but that would be pulling a Venus. When she returned from her Sjogren's illness in 2012, she too WC's into Miami, Charleston, Madrid and Rome. She hasn't played a Q round since Zurich in 1997.

Stat of the Week- 96- The total number of wins for Martina Navratilova at Eastbourne.

Gretzky, Howe, Lemieux. NHL players that put up video game numbers. Yes Todd, Ovechkin is on his way too. With the NHL playoffs starting this week, I had to make one reference.

On the WTA level, this is one of ours. Inspired by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's Monterrey numbers, which are 24-3, it is worth mentioning Martina's. The other part of that number also makes it more incredible, because that number is 11. You may think I mean 11 titles, which is correct, but only 11 losses. 96-11. Pavs would have to play Monterrey TWENTY more times to match that.

One of the few you can even compare her to is Nadal-FO 11 titles, 2 losses, 86-2.

Mon Apr 08, 10:33:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Quiz Time!
Navratilova had a 35 match win streak snapped at Eastbourne by which player?

A.Virginia Wade
B.Elena Likhovtseva
C.Linda Wild
D.Helena Sukova






Answer!

There isn't an obvious wrong answer, but by thinking about the peak of Martina's career, it will narrow it down.

(A)Wade is the obligatory Brit, but wrong because she was retired when the streak ended. However, she was the first woman to defeat her there, way back in 1974. In a similar vein, (B)Likhovtseva is wrong, but the last to do so in 1996.

That leaves us with the star of this week's story in (C)Linda Wild. The American reached 23 in the world, and won 5 titles, though none in the contiguous US.

She did win her first title in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1993, the year Monica Puig was born. Wait, what? Yes, Puerto Rico had an event for 12 non consecutive years, last running in 1995. And yes, it would have made for a better story if she had won there the day Puig was born, Sept 27, 1993, but that is the day she won her 2nd career title in Japan.

The 2 time Eastbourne finalist lost to two women that made the Wimbledon final in subsequent years in Lori McNeil, famous for her 1994 run, and Meredith McGrath, famous for her 1996 one, which was relevant earlier this year as she had been the last college player to make a slam SF. And until Collins builds her slam resume, a similar outlier as her best result at each of the other slams was the 2nd rd.

The reason Wild didn't face Navratilova in the final in 1992, was because she beat her in the round of 32, but she isn't the correct answer, because she "only" ended the 25 match win streak.

So (D)Sukova is the right answer, as the Czech mate and fellow HOF was the one. The only one to beat her(1987 final) between 1982-1992 when she went 60-1. Closest thing we have to Nadal's 70-1 stretch at Roland Garros.

Mon Apr 08, 10:34:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

*UPDATES*
1) Tauson def. Mrdeza in the Q2 to reach her first MD
2) Juvan won ITF title #7 6-1/3-0 ret.
3) Frayman won the Perin Memorial 7-6(7)/2-6/7-5 over Pellicano

Hmmm, so if Keys makes the semis her next time out it might be a sign of something bi-... oh, nevermind. ;)

Sveta def. Alexandrova 8-6 in a 3rd set TB. Of course she did. Welcome back to her!

And, shockingly (but no longer a crazy notion), Ovechkin is stirring up talk of catching Gretzky's "unreachable" career goals record. He'd likely have to play until he's 40, and remain super productive... but, well, he just might.

Some of Martina's career numbers are almost otherworldly and downright impossible to ever match. Sure, a lot of things have changed in the sport to make that so, but still.

On that, Stephens said something the other day about how she in no way believes today's top players (in their early to mid 20's) will stick around into the late thirties like a lot of the current veterans. It's an interesting thought. The physical grind of the tour might make her correct, but the money, training/nutrition regimens and a new thing -- long-ish sabbaticals, be they pregnancy/injury/pressure-related, that might serve to keep players mentally fresh -- might allow for it.

Of course, Venus and Serena were supposed to retire before they were 30, too. So...

QUIZ: Yes! I went with Sukova. I'm glad she made the HoF -- she'd been underrated and nearly forgotten for a while. One of those players who missed out on a LOT by being around in the Navratilova/Evert era, she still accomplished a great deal.

Wild stuff on Wild. ;)

Mon Apr 08, 12:39:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

By the way, really good CBC News interview with Andreescu here.

She addresses the Kerber post-match comments (sort of) at 10:00 in. ;)

Wed Apr 10, 03:45:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

The Muguruza -Pegula match was 2013.

Speaking of Pegula, she is the one surprise on the US Fed Cup roster, which will be led by Stephens & Keys.

FYI, no Andreescu for Canada, who may need to be creative with Marino as the #1 as the vet. #2 Should be Fernandez or Fichman, with Dabrowski as the doubles specialist.

I know you will go more in depth next week, but Switzerland has the same issue with Bencic out, and Bacsinszky mainly a doubles player for them.

Should we even be shocked by the Ostapenko loss?

Wed Apr 10, 06:20:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

At least the Czechs aren't going with Kvitova or Pliskova (but Safarova IS there in a bit of a surprise, whether she actually plays or not), with Vondrousova in the lead spot. Hard to imagine Canada pulling the upset, though, without Andreescu, Bouchard or Abanda.

Nope, on Ostapenko. And it was a match she *had*, too (in a tournament there for the taking, with so many LL -- one of whom beat her -- Q's & WC in the draw). Playing "fearless" doesn't necessarily also mean "errorless," unfortunately. :\

Thu Apr 11, 02:15:00 AM EDT  

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