Friday, June 07, 2019

RG.13- It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish

On a day characterized by windy conditions, scheduling snafus, premature cancellations and a torrent of rain that never really arrived to witness the havoc the rumors of its existence wreaked, the women's semifinals were carried out in their own little (non-Chatrier) bubble, ultimately turning over two new leafs in what has already been a topsy-turvy competition.



Both matches, played simultaneously at 11 a.m. on Courts Lenglen and Mathieu due to a controversial decision by tournament organizers, were contests in which the momentum rarely ever ended on the side of the player with which it had started. While the Ash Barty/Amanda Anisimova match on Lenglen played like a crazy game of pinball, the Marketa Vondrousova/Johanna Konta battle had a more of a "tortoise and the hare" quality to it.

The shifts in the former match were sweeping, and occasionally monumental. Seeking her fifth win in six rounds over a U.S. player at this Roland Garros, #8 seed Barty (9-0 vs. Bannerettes since last year's RG, a run which includes the Aussie's dominating Fed Cup semifinal weekend on U.S. soil earlier this spring) raced to what appeared to be a commanding lead over 17-year old New Jerseyan Amanda Anisimova. Utilizing what Tennis Channel commentator Lindsay Davenport referred to as a "Serve+1" attack featuring a solid point-starter immediately followed by a forehand that helped her seize control of the rallies, she won 17 of the first 18 points, and 23 of 27 to lead 5-0, with a 15/40 triple-set point lead on the teenager's serve. But two out-of-nowhere backhand errors squandered the chance to close out the 1st set after what would have been just fifteen minutes of play.

It opened the door for Anisimova, who adjusted to Barty's slice shots by stepping into the court and attacking the ball earlier in the rally. It turned the set from a laugher into a stunner. The teenager, playing in her first slam semi in just her fourth major MD, proceeded to win 25 of 35 points, taking a 6-5 lead. Barty got things to a tie-break, and led it 4-2. But a Barty error in point #9 ended a long rally and reignited Anisimova's momentum. She won the TB 7-4, and ran her point streak to 17 in a row while racing to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd.

Anisimova was like a race horse galloping down the stretch toward the finish line, the wind rippling through its mane as it pulled away from the field. But then the momentum turned again.

Perhaps finally realizing the enormity of what she was so close to accomplishing, Anisimova saw her game begin to be pockmarked by more and more errors. Barty capitalized, winning the final six games of the 2nd set. She carried what would be a 9-point streak into the 3rd, where *she* was the one who pulled away, better using her game's greater variety of shots in the trying conditions. At 5-2, Anisimova saved three MP, but a game later Barty finally locked away the 6-7(4)/6-3/6-3 victory on her sixth MP, reaching her maiden slam final and thereby giving the tournament an Australian finalist in the first RG final of the decade as well as what will be the last.




Barty called the contest her "toughest match mentally, physically, the occasion, the conditions – it was pretty brutal out there. I played some really good tennis and some pretty awful tennis. I’m proud of myself for fighting, scrapping, hanging in there to find a way when I threw away that first set."

Meanwhile, on the new Mathieu, things weren't quite as crazy. But this semifinal featured its own shifting tide, as 19-year old Vondrousova fell behind in the 1st and 2nd sets, #26-seed Johanna Konta served for both, and the Czech managed to push her way through the adversity with a Machine-like quality, responding in the clutch with breaks of serve and love holds down the stretch to become the first teen to reach the final in Paris since Ana Ivanovic in 2007.

Konta won the first eleven points of the match, had three SP on Vondrousova's serve a 5-3, and served for the 1st at 5-4. But the Brit could not prevent the Czech from hunting her down, methodically surging in the final games of the set, getting back-to-back breaks of serve to take the set 7-5.

Konta went up early break in the 2nd, as well. She led 5-3. After Vondrousova held at love, Konta again served for a set at 5-4. Again she was broken, double-faulting on BP. Another love hold from the Czech forced Konta to follow suit to get to a tie-break. Once there, the teenager coasted to a 7-2 win to close out the match at 7-5/7-6(2). She'll have the chance to topple all the age marks set in Paris by Alona Ostapenko (at 20) two years ago, as she can become the first teen slam winner since 2006 (Maria Sharapova/U.S.). The last Czech to win Roland Garros was Hana Mandlikova in 1981.




Meanwhile, Barty will be trying to become the first Aussie to win in Paris since Margaret Court in 1973, and to become the highest ranked woman from Down Under (at #2 -- she's already set to be #3) since Evonne Goolagong.

Said Vondrousova of her final opponent, "She's mixing it also like me, so I think it's going to be interesting match. I'm just gonna focus and try to relax.”

Either way, the decade that began with two straight maiden slam champions will now end with a string of four more.




=DAY 13 NOTES=
...in the doubles, #2 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic defeated #6 Elise Mertens & Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final. It'll give the duo a chance to win their second (w/ '18 AO) slam together, and Mladenovic an opportunity to grab her second RG crown in four years. It also assures that come Monday Mladenovic will become the 42nd woman to be ranked #1 in doubles in tour history.



Karma is killin' it lately... see the whole scheduling fiasco today.

Duan Yingying & Zheng Saisai's semifinal win over #15 Kirsten Flipkens & Johanna Larsson gives *them* the chance to become the first all-Chinese duo to claim the Roland Garros doubles title. The only such pair to win a major has been Yan Zi & Zheng Jie, who won both the AO and Wimbledon in 2006. Peng Shuai has won two WD slams ('13 Wimb/'14 RG), while Zhang Shuai won this year's Australian Open with Sam Stosur.

Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig successfully defended their MX title, defeating Gaby Dabrowski & Mate Pavic in the final for the second straight year. Last year the match went to a 10-8 match TB, but this year Chan/Dodig won in straights.



They're the first duo to win back-to-back MX crowns in Paris since Margaret Court & Ken Fletcher won three in a row from 1963-65. The last time a title was successfully defended at *any* major was when the all-sibling pair of Cyril Suk & Helena Sukova won back-to-back Wimbledons in 1986-87.



...the junior singles final is set, with top-seeded Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez following up her AO final with another at RG. She defeated Maria Camila Osorio Serrano today, and will face #8-seeded Bannerette Emma Navarro (def. #5 Zheng Qinwen). Navarro would be the third straight U.S. junior champ in Paris (six have reached the final in a four-year stretch), while LAF would be the first girl from Canada to win a major since Genie Bouchard in 2012 (Wimbledon).



...the wheelchair singles final will pit familiar foes, as #1 Diede de Groot (def. Aniek Van Koot 6-4/6-7(5)/6-4) and #2 Yui Kamiji (def. Marjolein Buis 6-4/7-5) will be featured in a head-to-head battle for a third straight slam, and the sixth in the last seven. Thus, de Groot has the opportunity to become the first player to win all eight slam crowns in a career (Japan's Shingo Kunieda came into RG with the same chance, but he lost in the men's WC semis today). Kamiji will be trying to win her third straight RG title, and fourth in six years.



...in this week's WTA 125 event in Bol, the semifinals will feature top-seeded Tamara Zidansek (def. Timea Bacsinszky today) against Kaja Juvan (def. Aleksandra Krunic), while Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (def. Jil Teichmann) will go up against Sara Sorribes Tormo (def. Laura Siegemund).




...LIKE ON DAY 13: CoCo is *so* going to lift Ash up and twirl her like a baton if she wins. Eventually. When she's 100% healthy. But she will do it.



...LIKE ON DAY 13:



But, really, what do you expect when then head of the French Federation is the same Il Duce wannabe who decided that he wanted to put Serena Williams, of all people, in his crosshairs.

Remember...?


This sort of thing wouldn't happen if, well, you know...



When is Mauresmo *not* the answer to what is right and honorable about tennis in France, and when is giving her more say in anything *not* the way to make it right?

Answer: never.

...JUST A NOTE ON DAY 13: Well, well, well. So the men's semifinal will have to finish on Saturday, with the winner being at the competitive disadvantage of having to play the Rafa Dude without a day of rest. Hmmm, you know, that wouldn't have happened if they'd scheduled the *men's* semis to be played simultaneously. They didn't seem to have any problem doing that with the women's semis.

Just sayin'.

Oh, yeah. And it was totally unnecessary, too. Bwahahahahaha.




*ALSO* JUST SAYIN' ON DAY 13: For those people who heap praise for someone reading a good speech written by someone else...




Stop trying to be "fair-minded" and remember what we're actually dealing with here.

...LIKE ON DAY 13: Make that *two* Nicole V. mentions at this Roland Garros...



...LIKE ON DAY 13: That look...



The numbers are something, too.

...LIKE ON DAY 13: Speaking of numbers...



...THIS ON DAY 13: Meanwhile, have no fear, Sloane is fully engaged...





Roland Garros had seen all sorts of first-time champions through the years, including quite a few in the 2010's. But no one had ever seen anything quite like "Latvian Thunder" in 2017.



The 2017 Roland Garros recap... here.

Of course that leaves one remaining year left to re-live, but since the women's final for *this* year is here, and 2018 was, well, just last year, I'm going to just include the full tournament recap along with all the others at the end of the concluding 2010-19 Roland Garros post that'll be up on Monday or Tuesday (and which will also include a brief recap of *this* year's event). Here's the one for the Australian Open.

Of course, you know what happened last June in Paris...


Good things come to those who wait. In 2018, Simona Halep's long wait came to a glorious end.

The 2018 Roland Garros women's final recap... "The Triumph of the Resilient Romanian."




=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#8 Ash Barty/AUS vs. Marketa Vondrousova/CZE

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
Duan/Sai.Zheng (CHN/CHN) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
L.Chan/Dodig (TPE/CRO) def. #2 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) 6-1/7-6(5)

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN vs. #8 Emma Navarro/USA

=GIRLS DOUBLES SF=
#4 Charaeva/Tikhonova (RUS/RUS) def. #1 Kawaguchi/Parry (JPN/FRA)
Beck/Navarro (USA/USA) vs. #7 Nagy/S.Park (HUN/KOR)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Capocci/Kamiji (ITA/JPN)
Famin/Montjane (FRA/RSA) vs. #2 Buis/Ellerbrock (NED/GER)





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*2019 WTA FINALS*
4 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-2)
3 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2-1)
3 - ASH BARTY, AUS (1-1)
3 - MARKETA VONDROUSOVA, CZE (0-2)
2 - Kiki Bertens, DEN (2-0)
2 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (2-0)
2 - Sonya Kenin, USA (1-1)
2 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (1-1)
2 - Johanna Konta, GBR (0-2)
2 - Simona Halep, ROU (0-2)

*2019 YOUNGEST WTA FINALISTS*
17 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Bogota-W) - 17,7m,2w
17 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Lugano-L)
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Auckland-L)
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin-W)
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Ind.Wells-W)
19 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Strasbourg-W)
19 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (Budapest-L)
19 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (Istanbul-L)
19 - MARKETA VONDROUSOVA, CZE (R.Garros-?)

*ROLAND GARROS FINALISTS BY NATION - 2010-19*
4 - USA (2-2)
3 - RUS (2-1)
3 - ROU (1-2)
3 - ITA (1-2)
2 - AUS (0-1)*
2 - CZE (0-1)*
1 - CHN (1-0)
1 - ESP (1-0)
1 - LAT (1-0)

*ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - FIRST SLAM FINAL*
1997 U.S. Open - Venus Williams
1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams (W)
2004 Wimbledon - Maria Sharapova (W)
2004 U.S. Open - Svetlana Kuznetsova (W)
2009 U.S. Open - Caroline Wozniacki
2010 Roland Garros - Samantha Stosur
2010 Wimbledon - Vera Zvonareva
2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova (W)
2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka (W)
2012 Roland Garros - Sara Errani
2013 Wimbledon - Sabine Lisicki
2014 Australian Open - Dominika Cibulkova
2014 Roland Garros - Simona Halep
2014 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard
2015 Wimbledon - Garbine Muguruza
2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber (W)
2016 U.S. Open - Karolina Pliskova
2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko (W)
2017 U.S. Open - Madison Keys
2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens (W)
2018 U.S. Open - Naomi Osaka (W)
2019 Roland Garros - Ash Barty
2019 Roland Garros - Marketa Vondrousova
-
ALSO: 2008 U.S. - Jelena Jankovic

*FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT ROLAND GARROS - Open era*
1971 Evonne Goolagong, AUS
1974 Chris Evert, USA
1976 Sue Barker, GBR
1977 Mima Jausovec, SLO
1978 Virginia Ruzici, ROU
1987 Steffi Graf, GER
1989 Arantxa Sanchez, ESP
1990 Monica Seles, YUG
1997 Iva Majoli, CRO
2003 Justine Henin, BEL
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Li Na, CHN
2016 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2017 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2018 Simona Halep, ROU
--
NOTE: Ann Haydon-Jones won first career slam at '61 Roland Garros, before Open era began in '68
NOTE: Ostapenko '17 only unseeded RG champ in Open era

*UNSEEDED RG FINALISTS IN OPEN ERA*
1971 Helen Gourlay, AUS
1976 Renata Tomanova, TCH
1977 Florenta Mihal, ROU
1983 Mima Jausovec, YUG
2017 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (W)
2019 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE

*2019 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
3...Chan/Chan (2-1)
3...BABOS/MLADENOVIC (1-1)
2...Mertens/Sabalenka (2-0)
2...Hsieh/Strycova (2-0)
2...Stosur/Sh.Zhang (1-1)
2...Dabrowski/Xu (1-1)
2...Melichar/Peschke (1-1)
2...Kalinskaya/Kuzmova (1-1)
2...Groenefeld/Schuurs (0-2)
[individuals]
3...Chan Hao-ching, TPE (2-1)
3...Latisha Chan, TPE (2-1)
3...TIMEA BABOS, HUN (1-1)
3...KRISTINA MLADENOVIC, FRA (1-1)
3...Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER (1-2)
3...Nicole Melichar, USA (1-2)
3...DUAN YINGYING, CHN (0-2)

*ROLAND GARROS GIRLS FINALS - since 2007*
2007 Alize Cornet/FRA def. Mariana Duque-Marino/COL
2008 Simona Halep/ROU def. Elena Bogdan/ROU
2009 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA def. Dasha Gavrilova/RUS
2010 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Ons Jabeur/TUN
2011 Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Monica Puig/PUR
2012 Annika Beck/GER def. Anna Schmiedlova/SVK
2013 Belinda Bencic/SUI def. Antonia Lottner/GER
2014 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS def. Ivana Jorovic/SRB
2015 Paula Badosa Gibert/ESP def. Anna Kalinskaya/RUS
2016 Rebeka Masarova/SUI def. Amanda Anisimova/USA
2017 Whitney Osuigwe/USA def. Claire Liu/USA
2018 Coco Gauff/USA def. Caty McNally/USA
2019 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN vs. Emma Navarro/USA

*CANADIANS IN GIRLS SLAM FINALS*
1994 Roland Garros - Sonya Jeyaseelan (RU)
2012 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard (W)
2019 Australian Open - Leylah Annie Fernandez (RU)
2019 ROLAND GARROS - LEYLAH ANNIE FERNANDEZ

*RG "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
2007 Mariana Duque-Marino, COL (RU)
2008 Simona Halep, ROU (W) & Elena Bogdan, ROU (RU)
2009 Dasha Gavrilova, RUS (RU)
2010 Elina Svitolina, UKR (W)
2011 Monica Puig, PUR (RU)
2012 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (RU)
2013 Belinda Bencic, SUI (W)
2014 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (W)
2015 Paula Badosa Gibert, ESP (W)
2016 Rebeka Masarova, SUI (W)
2017 Whitney Osuigwe, USA (W) and Claire Liu, USA (RU)
2018 Caty McNally, USA (RU) and Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN (SF)
2019 Diane Parry, FRA (WS MD win) and Emma Navarro, USA (in F)

*RG "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2016 Martina Hingis/SUI and Samantha Stosur/AUS
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Latisha Chan, TPE
2019 Latisha Chan, TPE

*GBR IN ROLAND GARROS SF - Open era*
1968 Ann Jones (RU)
1969 Ann Jones (RU)
1976 Sue Barker (W)
1983 Jo Durie
2019 Johanna Konta

*RECENT RG CHAMPIONS*
[Women's Doubles]
2010 Serena Williams & Venus Williams
2011 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2013 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei & Peng Shuai
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova
2019 ?
[Mixed Doubles]
2010 Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic
2011 Casey Dellacqua & Scott Lipsky
2012 Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupathi
2013 Lucie Hradecka & Frantisek Cermak
2014 Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Jean-Julien Rojer
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Mike Bryan
2016 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes
2017 Gaby Dabrowski & Rohan Bopanna
2018 Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig
2019 Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES #1's*
[year first reached #1]
1984 Martina Navratilova, USA
1985 Pam Shriver, USA
1990 Helena Sukova, TCH
1990 Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE
1991 Gigi Fernandez, USA
1991 Natalia Zvereva, USSR/BLR
1992 Larisa Neiland, LAT (former USSR)
1995 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
1997 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1998 Martina Hingis, SUI
1999 Anna Kournikova, RUS
2000 Corina Morariu, USA
2000 Lisa Raymond, USA
2000 Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2000 Julie Halard-Decugis, FRA
2000 Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2002 Paola Suarez, ARG
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2005 Cara Black, ZIM
2006 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2007 Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Venus Williams, USA
2010 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2011 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Kveta Peschke, CZE
2011 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2012 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
2015 Sania Mirza, IND
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2017 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2017 Chan Yung-Jan, TPE
2018 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2018 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2018 Timea Babos, HUN
2018 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA

*RG WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS*
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2013 Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
2014 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Marjolein Buis, NED
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2019 ?
[doubles]
2007 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Daniela Di Toro/Aniek van Koot, AUS/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 Marjolein Buis/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2013 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2017 Yui Kamiji/Margolein Buis, JPN/NED
2018 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2019 ?




TOP QUALIFIER: #22q Elena Rybakina/KAZ
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #26 Johanna Konta/GBR
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: #1q Bernarda Pera/USA def. #21q Kaja Juvan/SLO 6-4/1-6/7-6(1) [Juvan up break three times in 3rd, served at 5-4]
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #1 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. Victoria Azarenka/BLR 4-6/7-5/6-3 (down 6-4/4-2, BP for 5-2)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. - #12 Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. Elise Mertens/BEL 6-7(3)/6-4/11-9 (saved 5 MP; 3:18)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #31 Petra Martic/CRO (def. Jabeur/TUN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Angelique Kerber/GER (1st Rd./Potapova)
UPSET QUEENS: Russia
REVELATION LADIES: Russia
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Italy (0-2, none in RG 2nd Round for first time since 1982)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Aliona Bolsova/ESP (4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Lauren Davis/USA, Priscilla Hon/AUS, Diane Parry/FRA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Carolina Garcia, Krisinta Mladenovic & Diane Parry (all 2nd Rd.)
MADEMOISELLE OPPORTUNITY: Ash Barty/AUS [NOTE: de Groot or Kamiji could also be honored]
IT "??": Generation PDQ Teens (Amanda Anisimova/USA, Iga Swiatek/POL and Marketa Vondrousova/CZE)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Johanna Konta/GBR
CRASH & BURN: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1st Rd.; zero RG wins before/after '17 title)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Anna Blinkova/RUS (Q2: trailed 6-3/3-1 vs. Kalinina; Q3: trailed Glushko 3-0 in 3rd; 1st Rd.: trailed Gaspayarn 4-0 in 3rd; 2nd Rd.: trailed Garcia 3-0 in 3rd)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Mladenovic (new #1), Duan Yingying/Zheng Saisai
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Latisha Chan/TPE (defended MX title)
JUNIOR BREAKOUTS: Diane Parry/FRA (young MD winner since '09) and Emma Navarro/USA (in girls final)
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Court Simonne-Mathieu
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Simona Halep/ROU (awarded on LPT Day/June 1, Henin's birthday)




All for Day 13. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:38 PM 

5 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Bol should have a regular WTA event.

Wasn't thrilled about the scheduling, but have never forgotten the 2009 USO, which due to rain, had Wozniacki/Wickmayer moved and overshadowed by defaultgate.

Stat of the Day _ 25 _ The number of consecutive losses for Stan Wawrinka vs Djokovic and Nadal heading into the 2014 Australian Open.

One of the great stories in tennis history, Stan literally faced his demons and won, beating Nadal there, and Djokovic at the French in what may have been his best performance.

Vondrousova doesn't nearly have a big of a mountain to climb, but had lost the last match she played vs Konta, plus all six combined to Martic and Barty.

Vondrousova is a 65/35 favorite, for two reasons. First, she has already beaten Sevastova here. Second, Barty has improved her footwork, but is still susceptible to being wrong footed. Now we might see Barty counteract this by hitting short, predicting that Marketa will go crosscourt, then step in and hit a winner.

Picking Vondrousova in 2, 6/3, 6/4.

Sat Jun 08, 08:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I’m picking her too. We are a minority :-)

Sat Jun 08, 09:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Nicolas said...

Little disappointed with the tour right now. It lacks flavor. Both Barty's and Marketa's games are incomplete (missing the backhand) and both players don't have star quality for deserve a slam win. I think a agree with Navratilova or Evert in the way that the tour misses some dominance.

Sat Jun 08, 12:25:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Me from Week 19:

"Barty's match vs Halep felt like Cincinnati. Almost the same score too, as Cinci was 7-5, 6-4, instead of 7-5, 7-5. But just as that match signified that barty was close on hard, this feels the same on clay. With a shorter clay season, she may not win a title on the surface until next year, but the improvement is evident."

Barty wasting no time. Well deserved win for her, as she did what she has done the last 7-8 month. And that is make people play her game. Well done.

Stat of the Day- 2 -The number of Junior Slam Champions Australia has had since 1998.

Wait, shouldn't I be doing something about today?

Stat of the Day- 2- The number of Grand Slam Champions Australia has had since 1998.

Gotcha! Barty happens to be on both lists, showing both the good and bad of Aussie tennis. And there isn't much coming. the top ranked junior is Annerly Poulous, ranked 58, and only one of 2 in the Top 100. The other was country hopping Jelena Dokic, who won the US Open Juniors in 1998.

The drought wasn't always this long. The Open Era changed that, as the Australian Open Juniors were won by Aussies for the first 40 editions, a streak stopped by Britain's Sue Barker in 1975. Barker won the 1976 French Open, putting her on a list that Barty now belongs to, having won both a Jr and Sr slam.

Speaking of that slam, just as we have mentioned that France transitioned from Mauresmo to Cornet, with their tour and junior slams within a year, same with Denmark having Wozniacki and Tauson do the same, it should be noted that Barty and Stosur did so the same year. So the should have happened some time ago.

But no, Barty's break changed the timeline. But just as some college kids can take a bigger course load, plus summer school, and graduate in three years, some change their major after two, stay and do graduate work, and take six to leave.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Barty figured out what she wanted, then came back and got it.

Sat Jun 08, 05:30:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

N-
Of course, dominance can be a double-edged sword since if there's too much of it (on the women's tour, since the men have gotten a pass on that for about 12-15 years) then the line goes that there's "no depth."

But I *do* agree with what Henin said before the tournament, which touched on that a little. She said she missed the common match-ups of a lot of the same players battling it out in the QF-F stages of majors. I definitely agree with that. I don't know if "dominance" is necessarily necessary, but more consistency at the top would be nice. It'd be nice to see rivalries develop because of the memories left over from past matches between players on big stages, and not have the importance of the moment/event always (without any additional underlying context) always having to carry the day.

C/D-
I was sort of leaning toward MV, too. I guess I should have stuck with my initial thought that her recent record in finals meant something (why I'd said I'd have picked Vika as more likely to beat a Top 10er in week one, because of her great experience), and that maybe MV wasn't *quite* ready yet.

Of course, maybe if Chatrier wasn't such a *totally* new experience for her, *that* might have made a difference, too. :/

It'd been interesting to see what would have happened has it been Anisimova vs. Vondrousova.

Sat Jun 08, 07:36:00 PM EDT  

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