Sunday, August 11, 2019

Wk.32- Sting Like a Bee-anca

Well, that was worth the wait... and then some.

(A full week of The Bianca Andreescu Effect, I mean. Not the actual Toronto final.)






*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
TORONTO, ONTARIO (Premier 5/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Bianca Andreescu/CAN def. Serena Williams/USA 3-1 ret.
D: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Demi Schuurs (GER/NED) 7-5/6-0
ITF WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS 14s TEAM FINAL (Prostejov, CZE/Red Clay Outdoor)
Czech Republic def. United States 2-0


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bianca Andreescu/CAN
...Andreescu is turning out to be a do-everything, be-everything everywoman, equal parts sudden offense and steadfast defense, penetrating power and deft touch, with just the right amount of flinty fight and studied strategy for seasoning. Heck, on Sunday she even ended up being pretty adept at playing the role of hometown host and chief on-court consoler, as well.



(Psst, Bianca... we could use a little of those sort of people skills a bit farther south on the continent, in case you didn't know. So, umm, if you get the chance... I mean, I'm just sayin'.)

Having played just one match since March while healing up from a shoulder injury after her devastatingly good run on hard courts through the first three months of the season, one wasn't quite sure what Andreescu was going to come armed with just a hop, skip and a jump away in Toronto from her hometown of Mississauga, Ontario. She said she was 100%, but the 19-year old is rarely truly *that*, as her laundry list of early career injuries already attests.

Turned out, she *was* solid. Solid enough to spend about eleven hours on court during the week (even with the abbreviated final vs. Serena Williams, which ended after just four games due to Williams' injured back), winning four straight three-setters in a string of fascinating performances that would wear well no matter where they took place. Her no-blink side-to-side baseline prowess and forward aggression proved that her title run in Indian Wells in the spring wasn't a one-time thrill. Good for her, and the rest of us in the peanut gallery.


After recording four Top 10 wins in the season's opening months, Andreescu added three more this week, following up three-set wins over Genie Bouchard and Dasha Kasatkina with back-to-back three-set takedowns of #5 Kiki Bertens and #3 Karolina Pliskova, the former the tour's longest match (3:28) this season, as she extended her winning streak in three-setters to ten and her record vs. the Top 10 to 6-0. After winning a tough *two*-set affair against Sonya Kenin, she was the beneficiary of #10 Williams' retirement, which (even with an asterisk) added another notch to her so-far peerless Top 10 battle belt as she was crowned the first Canadian winner of the Rogers Cup since 1969 (when Faye Urban def. Vicki Berner, as surely *everyone* knows, right?).

Andreescu will rise to #14 on Monday, with no reason to believe she can't climb significantly higher before the end of the season as long as she can stay on the court. As has been the case for years, it's always been about that with her. From her junior days until now, and likely into the near future, every wince, wrapped body part or unexpected stretch will cause everyone's neck to jerk around to see it's all routine, or whether the Tennis Gods have a sadistic itch they want to scratch.

While drama -- on court and at the net -- seemed to follow her springtime runs, Andreescu's game produced the mother's lode of the theatrics in Toronto. Her rare mix of all-court variety, smart serving and fly-directly-into-the-sun fearlessness (without the recklessness that so often comes with such a tendency) is as much of a bear for an opponent to grapple with (and determine what to attack to gain an advantage) as it is fun to watch. With so many young players on tour often being a hit-or-miss proposition, be it mentally or otherwise, it's a nice change to watch a player who (to this point, at least) one can have confidence will *always* bring to the table whatever the fates allow on any given day.

In a season in which we've already been gifted with the rise of Ash Barty, it's like a series of caches of invaluable gems have been stashed amongst the bright flowers, towering trees and oddly-entrancing weeds that populate the tour's landscape.

Things just get interestinger and interestinger...



(Hmmm, and was that a chant of "Bi-an-ca!" going through the stands after the final? I guess it's official: Romanians travel well *and* know their familial histories.)
===============================================
RISERS: Sonya Kenin/USA and Jennifer Brady/USA
...Kenin was ultimately overshadowed by hometown favorite Andreescu in Toronto, but one can't overlook the next-level results she put up there en route to the semifinals. After knocking off Hsieh Su-wei, the Bannerette posted her second and third Top 10 wins of the season with upsets of Ash Barty (her first #1 win, which will help to knock the Aussie out of the top spot on Monday -- a touch of payback for that love 3rd set at Roland Garros that Barty handed her in the 4th Round) and Elina Svitolina, with a not-too-shabby-itself takedown of Dayana Yastremska sandwiched in between.



After having lost to Andreescu in the 2nd Round in Miami, then being the beneficiary of a walkover against the Canadian in the 2nd Round in Paris, Kenin got her chance for a little revenge in the semis. Though the match only lasted two sets, it surely *felt* like three as the Gen PDQ clash turned out to be all it was cracked up to be.

Kenin will be up to a new career-high of #22 this week, (still) hot on the heels of new Top 20er Andreescu and looking to even the score at a yet-to-be-determined place and time.

At the same time, Toronto provided a nice summer boost for Brady, who'd arrived in Ontario having lost three straight matches since her Nottingham semifinal in June. The 24-year old qualified with wins over Peng Shuai and Monica Puig, then allowed Kristina Mladenovic just three games before pushing Simona Halep to the brink in the Romanian's first post-Wimbledon title match. After talking the 1st set, Brady charged back from 4-0 down in the 3rd (Halep was clutching at her foot late, perhaps foreshadowing her retirement a round later) to get within two points of the win at 5-4. With Halep serving for the win at 6-5, Brady got the break to force a TB. Halep won 7-5 on MP #2, but Brady will get a bump in the rankings that will get her to #70, not far back of the career high (#60) she set two seasons ago.

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Thank you Toronto ?????? #the6ix #tebowing

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This weekend, Brady also qualified in Cincinnati, posting wins over Jil Teichmann and Magda Linette to reach the main draw.
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SURPRISE: Marie Bouzkova/CZE
...while one could see the #91-ranked Czech coming in recent months -- with a WTA 125 final in March, her maiden slam win (Wimbledon over Mona Barthel, as a LL) in June, and an $80K title sweep in July -- it would have been hard to envision the 21-year old '14 U.S. Open girls champ making a semifinal run in Toronto as a qualifier (w/o dropping a set, no less), posting two Top 10 wins (Sloane Stephens and Simona Halep, the latter via a 2nd set retirement) and another over a third slam winner (Alona Ostapenko) before pressing Serena Williams by taking the 1st set and making a run to her first tour final a real possibility.

Of course, that didn't happen, as Williams collected herself and hit her way into the final. But Bouzkova's fight is now a known quantity, and will have to be accounted for by every opponent she encounters from here forward (you know, just like her *big* water bottle when it comes to ball kids being prepared to sop things up with towels should that monster tip over and threaten to flood the whole court).



For her part, Bouzkova will be at a new career high of #53 on Monday, and could very well be hearing from Petr Pala in the near future.
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VETERAN: Serena Williams/USA
...this week maybe more than any other highlighted the pitfalls of Williams' chase for major win #24 (and #25, which is becoming even more problematic, if not *yet* a remote possibility) at an age where her body's ability to hold up for the long haul is anything but a given, and with the growing horde of young players populating big event draws making it more and more difficult to sustain a high enough level of play long enough, through enough battles, to *win* an event.

In Toronto, the 37-year old took care of Elise Mertens and Ekaterina Alexandrova, and finally defeated Naomi Osaka in her third attempt. But it took three sets to subdue qualifier Marie Bouzkova in the semis to reach career final #96, then back spasms -- in her fifth match in five days -- prevented her from playing more than four games against Bianca Andreescu. While Andreescu was coming back from four months of (almost total, save for one match at RG) inactivity, and herself had played five matches in five days (four of them three-setters) while logging 11+ hours of court time, the Canadian is nearly two decades younger than Williams and was able to withstand the physical pressure.



Williams has had two opportunities at #24 in slam finals over the past year, but was outplayed and saw her own nerves betray her both times. When she returned from having a baby, it still seemed a sure thing that she'd (at least) tie Margaret Court, and maybe surpass her, in short order.

Is that still the case? The odds (but only because she's Serena) are still in her favor, but for sure, the clock is ticking. It it doesn't happen by the end of 2020, is probably won't at all.
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COMEBACK: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...it wasn't a truly earth-shaking week for the Russian, but after entering Toronto having won just eight matches in 2019 through the first few days of month #8, Kasatkina has to be thrilled by actually finally resembling the player who climbed into the Top 10 last season, getting one big win and very nearly another that would have made the story of this year's Rogers Cup *very* different.

After dropping a bagel 1st set against Angelique Kerber in the 1st Round, Kasatkina came roaring back to win the final two sets 2 & 4. The victory over the world #13 was her best since defeating then-#11 Caroline Wozniacki in last year's Roland Garros Round of 16. Against Andreescu in the 2nd Round, Kasatkina won the 1st set and led 5-3 in the 3rd, serving for the win at 5-4. She DF'd twice in the game, and the Canadian won the set 7-5. Still, in a season just short of disastrous (unless it *passed* that point sometime this summer), Kasatkina will have to hope that Toronto will serve as the starting point from which the former "Russian Wall" will be begin to rebuild her tennis foundation.
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FRESH FACES: Dayana Yastremska/UKR and Iga Swiatek/POL
...it's been both a breakthrough and tough year for Yastremska, as the 19-year old has recorded her first slam wins (AO), reached her maiden major Round of 16 (Wimbledon), won two titles (Hua Hin & Strasbourg, both via 3rd set TB's), and set new rankings highs (now #32). But it's all come while she's also experienced a health scare involving her mother after a freak accident.



Toronto was another case of Yastremska posting good results even while still not *quite* being satisfied, as she handled both Johanna Konta (now 8-7 on non-Fed Cup hard courts in '19) and Victoria Azarenka before falling to Sonya Kenin in the 3rd Round. While she stands behind Andreescu and Amanda Anisimova as far as the highest-ranked teenagers on tour, it's fairly easy to recognize that the best is still yet come for this one.

Swiatek finally regained her footing in Toronto, two months after being handed a crushing loss in Paris by Simona Halep in a match in which the 18-year old won just a single game. Since then, the former junior Wimbledon champ had qualified in Birmingham, only to score just two games off Alona Ostapenko in the 1st Round in the first of four losses in a five-match stretch leading into this week. At the Rogers Cup, Swiatek qualified with wins over Shelby Rogers and Heather Watson, got a retirement victory over Ajla Tomljanovic and her second career Top 20 win in an upset of Caroline Wozniacki. She lost in straights to set-to-be-#1-again Naomi Osaka, but put up a good fight in a 7-6/6-4 contest.

The week will bump Swiatek up ten spots in the rankings on Monday, not far away from her Top 50 debut (#55) and one spot ahead of the player (Jessica Pegula) who defeated her in three sets last week in Washington en route to the title. On Sunday, Swiatek qualified for the Cincinnati MD, defeating Wang Yafan to seal the deal.


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DOWN: Kristina Mladenovic/FRA and Caroline Garica/FRA
...while the Fed Cup final still provides a potential big-time high on which to end their seasons, neither of the two players considered the best Pastries that France has to offer is ending their summers on anything resembling a high note.

While her hiring of Sascha Bajin as her new coach, along with maybe a bit of feel-good karma, sparked Mladenovic to an immediate uptick in results this spring -- a 10-3 run that included wins over the likes of Yastremska, Strycova, Anisimova, Garcia, Bencic and Barty -- Kiki has gone 5-7 since. After getting just two games off Jen Brady in a 1st Round loss in Toronto, Mladenovic didn't even make it to Monday in Cincinnati. She fell 6-2/7-5 to Magda Linette in the first round of qualifying.

Might Big Sascha be a free agent again far earlier than anyone anticipated?

Meanwhile, Garcia went down 3 & 3 to Alona Ostapenko in her opening match in Toronto. Since reaching the Strasbourg final and winning Nottingham (a 10-2 run), she's gone 4-5. With this week's result, she's under .500 (7-8) on hard courts in '19.
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ITF PLAYERS: Maja Chwalinska/POL and Madison Brengle/USA
...17-year old Pole Chwalinska continued her challenger winning ways in Warsaw, taking the $60K title there to add to what is now a 3-event, 15-match winning streak. Victories over the likes of Ekaterine Gorgodze (WTA 125 Karlsruhe QF a week ago), Victoria Kan and Anastasiya Komardina in a 6-3/6-0 final took care of one side of the event, while she teamed with Ulrikke Eikeri to sweep to the doubles title, as well.

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60,000$ singles&doubles winner??#whataweek #wsgopen

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In Landisville, Pennsylvania it was 29-year old Brengle winning the big North American challenger title of the week, posting wins over Lizette Cabrera, Liang En-shuo and Vicky Duval before defeating Zhu Lin 6-4/7-5 to claim the singles crown. It's Brengle's 15th career challenger win (all 24 of her ITF finals have been in U.S.-based events, while she reached her only tour-level final Down Under in Hobart in '15), and her second straight title run at the event (her third there since 2013).
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JUNIOR STARS: Czech Republic 14s and Katie Volynets/USA
...a year after losing in the '18 final to the Hordettes, the Czech Maidens claimed the 14s ITF team title on home turf (well, dirt) in Prostejov with a sweep of the Bannerettes. Led by the sisters Fruhvirtova, the Czechs handled both of North America's top teams, defeating Canada 2-1 in the semis, then the U.S. 2-0 in the final. 14-year old Linda, who lost in both singles and doubles in last year's final, overcame a hand injury to lead the Czechs to their fourth title in the competition, defeating the top Bannerette, Clervie Ngounoue, 6-0/6-1, to open the final, then saw her younger sister Brenda clinch with a 7-5/6-4 win over Tseshay Driscoll.


Brenda & Linda Fruhvirtova

12-year old Brenda was a combined 10-0 (with no lost sets) during the week for Captain Tomas Josefus' squad, and even survived colliding with the scoreboard in her win over Driscoll.

Meanwhile, to top off what turned out to be a great week for Canadian tennis, Canada's 14s girls defeated Switzerland in the 3rd/4th tie to claim the proverbial "Bronze" in the event.

In San Diego, 17-year old Californian Katie Volynets (#2 seed) claimed the USTA National Championship (18s) with a 6-2/6-4 win in the final over #3 Emma Navarro (who'd defeated #1 Hailey Baptiste in the SF), sweeping the final three games to improve her career record to 3-0 in their head-to-head. Volynets, who hadn't played a junior event since last year's U.S. Open, has gone 12-12 in pro events (6-4 Q/6-8 MD) in '19 and will now make her slam MD debut via a wild card berth into the women's competition at Flushing Meadows.


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DOUBLES: Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
...2019 hasn't been a particularly great year for the Czechs, at least not by their standards. The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champs a season ago, Krejcikova & Siniakova entered August having reached just one final (I.W.) in' 19, and lost the deciding doubles match vs. the Romanians that ended the Czech Republic's Fed Cup title hopes. Now ranked between #8-12 in the WD rankings, the former #1-ranked pair finally got back into the winner's circle in Toronto, with a little help.

After a 1st Round bye, the Czechs received a 2nd Round walkover, then went on to claim a 10-4 match tie-break to defeat Azarenka/Barty in the semis. It set the stage for a 7-5/6-0 win over Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Demi Schuurs in the final to pick up their third tour-level title as a pair.



On the other side of the net, Groenefeld/Schuurs have reached four finals this season (ALG has played in a tour-best five, winning once w/ Alicja Rosolska), but are still seeking their maiden title as a pair after having lost all three previous finals in 3rd set match TB's. Schuurs, after leading the tour with seven titles last season, hasn't won since Wuhan last September (w/ Elise Mertens).
===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
...it turned out that the antidote to Zhu Zhenzhen's winning ways was 43-year old vet Ellerbrock. At the Austrian Open, the German not only ended Zhu's 33-match winning streak in the singles final (7-6/6-3), but she also put an end to her two-title run in doubles when she teamed with Katharina Kruger to end *that* streak in the semifinals.

It's Ellerbrock's first title in a year, since she won in Mississauga, Ontario (yes, *that* Mississauga -- hometown of a certain Canadian teenager) last August.
===============================================


The Most Interesting Tour: Tangible Evidence Edition




"Don't be scared."




1. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Kiki Bertens
...6-1/6-7(6)/6-4. The match that nearly derailed Andreescu's title run was the one that shouldn't have even gone three sets, but ended up being the longest match on tour this season.

After taking the 1st set, Andreescu led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB, and held a MP at 6-5 before Bertens won 8-6. The teenager led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Bertens broke to get things back on serve at 4-3, then saved a BP in game #8. Up 5-4, Andreescu had MP's #2 and #3 on Bertens serve, with the Dutch world #5 saving the second with a well-timed ace. But on MP #4, Bertens' DF ended things after 3:29.

The thought was that the extra long match might hold the Canadian back later in the week. The thought was wrong.
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2. Toronto 1st Rd. - Sonya Kenin def. Ash Barty
...6-7(5)/6-3/6-4. The three players who've held the #1 ranking in '19 have been beaten a combined ten times this season, but none of those defeats have come at the hands of another player ranked in the Top 10. Only three of the wins have been accomplished by a player in the Top 20, with two of those coming in the season's first month. The win by #29 Kenin, a career first, only added to the ongoing trend.
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3. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Jennifer Brady
...4-6/7-5/7-6(5). So, what is a Wimbledon title run worth? Brady rallied from 4-0 down in the 3rd and got within two points of the win at 5-4, then denied Halep when the Romanian served for the match at 6-5. But Halep held firm and won on MP #2 in the TB in her first match since SW19. Maybe that's what a Wimbledon title run is worth.
===============================================




4. Toronto 1st Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Angelique Kerber 0-6/6-2/6-4
Toronto 2nd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Dasha Kasatkina 5-7/6-2/7-5
...Kasatkina and Kerber combined to produce one of the most entertaining matches of the season at last year's Wimbledon, and it was great to see that that Russian was still capable of such things after seven-plus months lost in the WTA wilderness. She had a shot at a history-altering win over Andreescu, too, serving for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd. But a two-DF game overturned her fortunes, and Andreescu ran away with the momentum provided by the reversal of fortune.
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5. Toronto SF - Bianca Andreescu def. Sonya Kenin
...6-4/7-5. There are many in the mix (including a teenager with the initials "AA," who has produced bigger slam results), but these two have been North America's rising new stars of the season, with both winning a pair of titles in '19. It goes without saying that they *should* be crossing paths on their way to stardom. So far, Andreescu has won both encounters (in Miami and here), with Kenin getting a walkover in Paris that only whetted her appetite for something more. While Kenin is the more low key (post-match) of the two, maybe *she'll* be the one saying "Life is freaking amazing!" the *next* time they meet. Bring it on.


===============================================
6. Toronto QF - Sonya Kenin def. Elina Svitolina
...7-6(2)/6-4. Another week, another blown lead from Svitolina. In blustery conditions, she led 4-0 in the 1st, then it was Kenin who took control and won in two. Meanwhile, Monfils reached the semifinals... and handed Nadal a walkover.

Same old story. Nothing to see here.
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7. Toronto 1st Rd. - Anett Kontaveit def. Maria Sharapova
...4-6/6-3/6-4. Sharapova had a set and an early break lead, but *did* at least manage to finish the match, which was something she was hoping to find ways to do a few weeks ago.

After being one of the queen of three-set matches for most of her career, Sharapova is 5-9 in such matches the last two seasons.
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8. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Caroline Wozniacki
...1-6/6-3/6-4. Aga was 6-11 vs. Wozniacki, and won her first meeting with the Dane 6-4/6-1 in Stockholm in 2007.
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9. Toronto 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu ddf. Genie Bouchard
...4-6/6-1/6-4. It didn't take long to see that the it's-not-over-til-it's-over mindset from the spring was still alive and well in Andreescu, as Bouchard's 3rd set break to get back on serve at 3-3 was immediately met with a break back a game later. And the week-long race was on.



As it was, after Canadian women had gone a combined 0-12 in Toronto up to this point: 0-8 in qualifying, Leylah Annie Fernandez's 1st Round loss to Bouzkova, and a three-loss start in WD, including LAF's exit while partnering Halep vs. Melichar/Peschke in a 10-5 match TB. Andreescu's win kicked off an 8-1 finish: her 6-0 run, along with Gaby Dabrowski's 2-1 results en route to the semis with Xu Yifan.


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10. $15K Nairobi KEN Final - Mahak Jain def. Sada Nahimana
...6-1/6-4. The 18-year old Indian picks up her maiden pro title, while 18-year old Nahimana (this year's girls Nottingham champ) of Burundi reaches her first final.
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11. Toronto QF - Marie Bouzkova def. Simona Halep
...6-4 ret. After climbing back from 4-0 down in the 1st, Halep retires with a foot/Achilles issue after dropping the set. As always, her wheels are her tennis life, so caution is always prudent.


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12. Toronto 1st Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Madison Keys 3-6/7-6(5)/7-6(5)
Toronto 1st Rd. - Marie Bouzkova def. Sloane Stephens 6-2/7-5
...Keys had three MP, but couldn't close things out. With the two losses, along with Venus Williams' 1st Round exit, the generally healthy three-quarters of the '17 U.S. Open semifinals are a combined 0-6 on summer hard courts.
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13. $60K Hechingen GER Final - Barbara Haas def. Olga Danilovic
...6-2/6-1. Danilovic's first final since she won a WTA title in Moscow as a lucky loser in July of last year. Meanwhile, Haas picks up her biggest career title after previously going 0-3 in challenger finals of $50/60K or higher.


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14. $25K Cordenons ITA Final - Arantxa Rus def. Nika Radisic
...4-6/6-4/6-1. Rus wins her fifth ITF title of the season, and her second in a row.
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15. $25K Mayar Sherif def. Leonie Kung
...6-1/6-0. The Egyptian's six challenger titles tops the circuit leaderboard for 2019.


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HM- Cincinnati Q1 - Barbora Strycova def. Kaia Kanepi 7-6(3)/3-6/6-3
Cincinnati Q2 - Rebecca Peterson def. Barbora Strycova 6-2/6-1
...the perfect example of why the who "six-week cutoff" thing really makes little sense, especially when slam results get caught in the They-Don't-Matter Zone.
===============================================








1. Toronto Final - Bianca Andreescu def. SERENA WILLIAMS
...3-1 ret. Williams saved BP's in game #1, then dropped serve two games later in an aces-or-errors game #3. After Andreescu's hold, it was all over, as the Canadian is the first to win *two* hard court titles this season.



It's Serena's first retirement from a singles final since 2000 vs. Martina Hingis in... Montreal.

Maybe it's the maple syrup?
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2. Toronto QF - Bianca Andreescu def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-0/2-6/6-4. Andreescu's handling of the Czech may have been her best, most well-thought pre-match, match & post-match performance(s) of the entire week.

Of course, Pliskova just isn't the same hard court player she was a few years ago, in terms of her serve, movement or pre-match planning. Should it have taken so long for her to change up the gameplan and move closer in to the baseline to take away the great advantage the Canadian was getting in the 1st by keeping her shots deep in the court?

As far as "drama" goes, this one was probably the only time it reared its head on Andreescu's side of the net all week, as she seemed hampered by a leg injury in the 3rd but... (weird music and wavey lines) it was only an illusion.




Said Andreescu, "I told myself, 'Go big or go home.' Literally go home. My home is like two minutes from here."
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3. Toronto QF - SERENA WILLIAMS def. NAOMI OSAKA
...6-3/6-4. Finally, Serena gets a set (or two) off Osaka in their third meeting, hitting 12 aces along the way. Still, with Barty and Pliskova's exits, Osaka will re-assume the #1 position atop the rankings this week.


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HM- Toronto 1st Rd - Carla Suarez-Navarro def. VENUS WILLIAMS
...6-4/6-2. The last time Venus lost four matches in a row? Umm, well, never. This is the first time it's ever happened.
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Seriously, not to get all "Britney," but leave Genie Bouchard alone. Of course, this all had only *partly* to do with Bouchard. Fact is, she dared to make a joke that was Six Degrees of Separation away from Serena, so she must be punished to the fullest extent. If only people got so worked up about important things.






















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Beautiful Toronto ??

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*MOST WTA FINALS in 2019*
4 - Ash Barty, AUS (3-1)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (3-1)
4 - Kiki Bertens, NED (2-2)
4 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-2)
3 - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (2-1)
3 - Sonya Kenin, USA (2-1)
3 - Simona Halep, ROU (1-2)
3 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (0-3)

*2019 WTA TEENAGE CHAMPIONS*
17 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Bogota)
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Indian Wells)
19 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Strasbourg)
19 - BIANCA ANDREESCU, CAN (TORONTO)

*CAREER WTA TITLES - CANADA*
2 - BIANCA ANDREESCU (2019)
2 - Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983-87)
2 - Helen Kelesi (1986-88)
1 - Genie Bouchard (2014)
1 - Jill Hetherington (1988)
1 - Patricia Hy-Boulais (1986)
1 - Aleksandra Wozniak (2008)
[high ranking]
#5 - Genie Bouchard (2014)
#8 - Carling Bassett-Seguso (1985)
#13 - Helen Kelesi (1989)
#14 - BIANCA ANDREESCU (2019)
#21 - Aleksandra Wozniak (2009)

*2019 WINS OVER #1*
Sydney 2nd Rd. - #15 Barty d. #1 Halep
Australian Open 4th Rd. - #16 S.Williams d. #1 Halep
Dubai 2nd Rd. - #67 Mladenovic d. #1 Osaka
Indian Wells 4th Rd. - #23 Bencic d. #1 Osaka
Miami 3rd Rd. - #27 Hsieh d. #1 Osaka
Madrid QF - #18 Bencic d. #1 Osaka
Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - #42 Siniakova d. #1 Osaka
Birmingham 2nd Rd. - #43 Putintseva d. #1 Osaka
Wimbledon 4th Rd. - #55 Riske d. #1 Barty
Toronto 1st Rd. - #29 Kenin d. #1 Barty

*2019 WTA SINGLES FINALIST IN HOME NATION*
Sydney, AUS - Ash Barty
Charleston, USA - Madison Keys [W]
Prague, CZE - Karolina Muchova
Strasbourg, FRA - Caroline Garcia
's-Hertogenbosch, NED - Kiki Bertens
Bucharest, ROU - Patricia Maria Tig
Jurmala, LAT - Anastasija Sevastova [W]
Washington, USA - Jessica Pegula [W]
Toronto, CAN - BIANCA ANDREESCU [W]

*ANDREESCU vs. TOP 20*
2017 (1-0)
2018 -
2019 (9-3)
[vs. Top 10]
2019 W - #3 Wozniacki (Auckland)
2019 W - #4 Kerber (Indian Wells)
2019 W - #6 Svitolina (Indian Wells)
2019 W - #8 Kerber (Miami)
2019 W - #5 Bertens (Toronto)
2019 W - #3 Ka.Pliskova (Toronto)
2019 W - #10 S.Williams ret. (Toronto)

*DEFEATED S.WILLIAMS IN FINALS*
1999: V.Williams
2000: Hingis(ret.),Tauziat
2001: V.Williams(2)
2002: Clijsters,Henin
2003: Henin(2)
2004: Sharapova,Davenport
2005: -
2006: -
2007: Dementieva
2008: V.Williams(3)
2009: Azarenka
2010: Dementieva(2)
2011: Stosur
2012: -
2013: Azarenka(2),Azarenka(3)
2014: -
2015: -
2016: Kerber,Azarenka(4),Muguruza
2017: -
2018: Kerber(2),Osaka
2019: Halep,Andreescu(ret.)
--
OVERALL: 72-24

*DEFEATED VENUS & SERENA IN SAME SEASON in WTA events*
1997 Lindsay Davenport
1998 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Sydney-W), Martina Hingis
1999 Steffi Graf (Sydney)
2000 Lindsay Davenport
2001 Martina Hingis (AO)
2002 Kim Clijsters (WTA Chsp-W)
2003 Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Lindsay Davenport (Los Angeles), Maria Sharapova
2005 Silvia Farina Elia
2006 Jelena Jankovic
2007 Justine Henin (U.S. Open-W)
2008 Jelena Jankovic, Li Na
2009 Kim Clijsters (U.S. Open-W), Elena Dementieva
2010 Jelena Jankovic (Rome)
2011 Samantha Stosur
2012 Angelique Kerber
2013 Sabine Lisicki
2014 Ana Ivanovic
2015 -
2016 Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova (U.S. Open), Svetlana Kuznetsova
2017 -
2018 Angelique Kerber
2019 Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu
--
(x): in same tournament; "W" if also won title

*2019 BIGGEST AGE DIFFERENCE IN FINAL*
18 yrs - ANDREESCU(19) def. S.WILLIAMS(37) - TORONTO
13 yrs - Andreescu(18) def. Kerber(31) - Indian Wells
12 yrs - Goerges(30) def. Andreescu(18) - Auckland
11 yrs - Hercog(28) def. Swiatek(17) - Lugano

*WTA PREMIER 5+MANDATORY FINALS in 2019*
Dubai (HC) - #45 Bencic/SUI def. #4 Kvitova/CZE
Indian Wells (HC) - #60 Andreescu/CAN def. #8 Kerber/GER
Miami (HC) - #11 Barty/AUS def. #7 Ka.Pliskova/CZE
Madrid (RC) - #7 Bertens/NED def. #3 Halep/ROU
Rome (RC) - #7 Ka.Pliskova/CZE def. #42 Konta/GBR
Toronto (HC) - #27 Andreescu/CAN def. #10 S.Williams/USA
Cincinnati (HC) -
Wuhan (HC) -
Beijing (HC) -

*2019 WTA DOUBLES FINALS - DUOS*
4...Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE (4-0)
4...Chan/Chan, TPE/TPE (3-1)
4...GROENEFELD/SCHUURS, GER/NED (0-4)
3...Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA (2-1)
3...Melichar/Peschke, USA/CZE (2-1)
3...Dabrowski/Xu, CAN/CHN (1-2)

*RECENT USTA U.S. OPEN WC PLAYOFF WINNERS*
2010 Beatrice Capra
2011 Madison Keys
2012 Mallory Burdette
2013 Shelby Rogers
2014 Nicole Gibbs
2015 Samantha Crawford
2016 Sonya Kenin
2017 Sonya Kenin
2018 Asia Muhammad
2019 Kristie Ahn
--
NOTE: determined by combined results since 2012

*RECENT USTA NAT'L CHAMPIONS - 18s*
2009 Christina McHale
2010 Shelby Rogers
2011 Lauren Davis
2012 Vicky Duval
2013 Sachia Vickery
2014 CiCi Bellis
2015 Sonya Kenin
2016 Kayla Day
2017 Ashley Kratzer
2018 Whitney Osuigwe
2019 Katie Volynets

*RECENT ITF WORLD JUNIOR FINALS [14s]*
2010 USA d. UKR
2011 SRB d. USA
2012 SVK d. GBR
2013 USA d. RUS
2014 RUS d. UKR
2015 RUS d. USA
2016 UKR d. USA
2017 USA d. UKR
2018 RUS d. CZE
2019 CZE d. USA

*2019 WEEKS AT #1*
[1Q]
12/31: Simona Halep
1/7: Simona Halep
1/14: Simona Halep
1/21: Simona Halep
1/28: Naomi Osaka
2/4: Naomi Osaka
2/11: Naomi Osaka
2/18: Naomi Osaka
2/25: Naomi Osaka
3/4: Naomi Osaka
3/11: Naomi Osaka
3/18: Naomi Osaka
3/25: Naomi Osaka
4/1: Naomi Osaka
[2Q]
4/8: Naomi Osaka
4/15: Naomi Osaka
4/22: Naomi Osaka
4/29: Naomi Osaka
5/6: Naomi Osaka
5/13: Naomi Osaka
5/20: Naomi Osaka
5/27: Naomi Osaka
6/3: Naomi Osaka
6/10: Naomi Osaka
6/17: Naomi Osaka
6/24: Ash Barty
7/1: Ash Barty
7/8: Ash Barty
7/15: Ash Barty
[3Q]
7/22: Ash Barty
7/29: Ash Barty
8/5: Ash Barty
8/12: Naomi Osaka

*2019 WEEKS AT DOUBLES #1*
[1Q]
12/31: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
1/7: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
1/14: Katerina Siniakova
1/21: Katerina Siniakova
1/28: Katerina Siniakova
2/4: Katerina Siniakova
2/11: Katerina Siniakova
2/18: Katerina Siniakova
2/25: Katerina Siniakova
3/4: Katerina Siniakova
3/11: Katerina Siniakova
3/18: Katerina Siniakova
3/25: Katerina Siniakova
4/1: Katerina Siniakova
[2Q]
4/8: Katerina Siniakova
4/15: Katerina Siniakova
4/22: Katerina Siniakova
4/29: Katerina Siniakova
5/6: Katerina Siniakova
5/13: Katerina Siniakova
5/20: Katerina Siniakova
5/27: Katerina Siniakova
6/3: Katerina Siniakova
6/10: Kristina Mladenovic
6/17: Kristina Mladenovic
6/24: Kristina Mladenovic
7/1: Kristina Mladenovic
7/8: Kristina Mladenovic
7/15: Barbora Strycova
[3Q]
7/22: Barbora Strycova
7/29: Barbora Strycova
8/5: Barbora Strycova
8/12: Barbora Strycova

































All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:53 PM 

8 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

A whole bunch of stuff to get to.

Mayar Sherif will force people to make Betsy Abbas references, ie 1960 French Open QF.

Speaking of older references, nice to see that Faye Urban(Mlacak) is alive and enjoying tennis 50 years after her win at the Canadian Championships. Note that this was played on clay, so Andreescu's win is the first on hard.

Doubles draw is out with some creative teams. Goerges/Kerber is one. But doesn't Goerges play with Pliskova? Not here, as the Pliskova twins play together. As do Mattek Sands-Vandeweghe, Bertens-Vekic, Cornet-Mladenovic and McNally-Riske.

Wanted Puig to play Riske, but not to be. Riske is from Pittsburgh, the team that Puig's boyfriend Derek Dietrich has been crushing all year. Fun fact-When Dietrich was a senior at Georgia Tech, their star tennis player was Irina Falconi.

Serena 7 events in 2019- QF-RET-W/O-W/O-R32-F-RET

Andreescu 8 events in 2019- F- R64- W- SF- W- RET- W/O- W

Coming in with no match play and winning seems familiar.

NBA, like you, are doing a decade recap. 9th highest Field Goal Percentage? David Lee.

Stat of the Week- 23- The amount of events played by Justine Henin in 2002.

Admittedly, I use Henin as the poster child for playing a minimal schedule and still being #1. But it took time to get there.

Seeing a player like Henin have success makes me think that Andreescu should follow the same path. So let's look at the rest of Henin's career starting with 2003.

2003-18
2004-9
2005-9
2006-13
2007-14
2008-6
2010-9
2011-1

2003 was the year in which she became #1 for the first time. After that, injuries, personal issues(Hardenne), and conservation led to an abbreviated schedule. The peak may have been 2007, when she entered 14 events, and won 10 of them.

Andreescu is at the point where she should expect to make deep runs in most tournaments, therefore pace out her events. She has learned from the IW/Miami stretch and pulled out of Cincinnati.

At #8 in the race, she doesn't need to chase points. Just by bringing her best at the US Open, and one Asian event, that should be enough to reach the YEC.


Quiz Time!
Bianca Andreescu just reached her second WTA final this season. Which Canadian reached the most finals in a single year?

A.Genie Bouchard
B.Carling Bassett
C.Helen Kelesi
D.Aleksandra Wozniak



More Up/Down with another Premier.



Answer!
I actually wanted to ask who is the Canadian woman to win 2 singles titles in a year, but until yesterday, it had not happened in the Open Era.

It is not (A)Bouchard, aka the Canadian Kournikova. That might be a stretch, but when she reached the Wimbledon final in 2014, Andreescu was 14, and Fernandez was 11. She had an effect. Sort of like Tim Henman in the he was the one before The One.

In her magical 2014 season, she reached 3 finals, winning her one and only career title in Nuremberg.

(C)Kelesi is wrong, but topical. Also having reached 3 finals in a season back in 1988, one of those was a RU finish in Cincinnati, where she lost to Barbara Potter.

A two time winner on tour, she won in Tokyo in 1968, and not Toronto, but Taranto in 1988.

(D)Wozniak was the obvious no. As the others reached 3 finals in a year, she only reached 3 in her career, winning Stanford in 2008 for her only title. Keeping with the theme of 3, she reached her finals in 3 consecutive years(2007-09).

That leaves (B)Bassett as your answer. One of the reasons for the age rule, the 2 time winner reached 4 finals in 1983 at the age of 15. She won once that year, then once in 1987, and that was it.

Mon Aug 12, 10:06:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Last week to lock in USO seeds, so might as well start at the top.

Osaka, Pliskova and Barty have a chance at the #1 seed. Obviously 2013-2016 Serena did this constantly, but if Osaka can hold on the the top spot, she will be the first since Kerber(2017 Australian) to be the defending champ at a slam while ranked #1.

Those 3 will each have a quarter, Halep, Kvitova, Bertens, Svitolina, and Williams all could be 4.

Williams likely at 8, but Sabalenka, Sevastova and Stephens have a chance.

9-16: Vondrousova is at 16, but not playing. Wang is 1 match away from passing her, Wozniacki and Keys also could.

17-24: Anisimova at 24 is somewhat safe, players need multiple wins to pass her. That group includes Garcia, Muguruza, Mertens, and Goerges.

Last 4 in: Suarez-Navarro, Hsieh, Strycova(out), Yastremska.

First 4 out: Sakkari, Zhang(out), Collins(out), Riske.

Yastremska controls her fate, Sakkari is 2 matches out, and Riske needs QF or better.

Unlikely, but Brady at 69 is the last person who has a mathematical chance. That means Ostapenko has none.

5 On the Up Side.

1.Kasatkina- Why would I pick somebody who is on a current 5-6 run? She looks like the old Kasatkina. Plus you dont pick people who went deep in Toronto here, and that is even easier to do without Andreescu and Bouzkova. And if I am being honest, I don't expect Serena to stay in the draw.
2.Sharapova- Has a 51/49 match vs Riske. If she gets by her, a possible SF run. Showing improvement lately, the difference between the old days and now is her style. Always able to stay in the middle of the court and dictate, she is being forced to hit on the run more than before. Not really effective. But trending up enough the a 4th rd or QF in NY would not be a shock.
3.Yastremska- Still waiting for a big run in a Premier, but also trending up. Uses both the Ostapenko grip it and rip it style, mixed with the old Sharapova style. She doesn't like to move, but tries to redirect the ball like Maria used to. Probably a year away from a slam final.
4.Sevastova- Her last best chance to reach the Top 10? She's been on the cusp recently, and has USO SF points to defend. So this needs to be the week.
5.Bertens- I need to apologize to Kiki. Perception and reality don't match. Seemingly scuffling with her B game since her Roland Garros retirement, she has still going 14-6 in that stretch, with 2 finals. She sond repeat in Cinci, but even with the patchy play, she is 5 in the race. Have to give her credit, when others like Keys and Muguruza are struggling to get back to back wins. BTW, they play each other.

Mon Aug 12, 10:26:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Buzarnescu- Sadly, her current ranking does reflect her play this season. Down to 134, she is doomed to play international and ITF events to make it back to the big ones. Does someone as smart as Dr. Buz see any value in it?
2.Davis- Ohio girl from Gales Mills(4 hrs away) loses WC to Cinci girl in McNally. Note-both are on Grandstand today. Made it through Q, but is only 3-7 there, with only 1 MD win(Koukalova).
3.Tsurenko- Has USO QF to defend, but will probably be unseeded, as she also has Cinci QF to defend. That drops her to 39, and hasn't really been healthy since Australia.
4.S.Williams- Overall, the week was a plus, but she's gone from being Mariano Rivera to Edwin Diaz. That means she can't close. In finals, she has not gotten the first time finalist recently, but the former slam winners(Kerber/Halep), or upstart IW winners(Osaka/Andreescu). At the point of her career that she might need Teichmann to win a title. That's isn't a dig, Sharapova needed a titleless Sabalenka, and Vika hasn't gotten one either.
5.Osaka- Not really a down. If Serena pulls out, she is the SF favorite from her section. Even more than Kvitova, the question is what is she bringing here, and what is she bringing to New York? Does being #1 cause her to retreat again? Or does somebody sucking up all of the oxygen(Serena, Bianca, Coco G, even Pliskova if she performs as well as she normally does in Cinci), take the pressure off?

Mon Aug 12, 10:42:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Kelesi Typo-Tokyo was 1986.

Serena not on today's schedule, so 24 hr wait to see if she pulls out.

Mon Aug 12, 10:48:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

"And the award for First Betsy Abbas Mention This Century goes to..." ;)

Wow, a rare basketball-related David Lee reference, too!

Maybe that sort of schedule *is* Andreescu's key to staying healthy all season. If she's going to win matches at this rate, she *doesn't* need to play all the time. She needs to do it in a major, now. Good choice about Cincinnati, too. It seemed an obvious move, but some players might have tried to pull it off and put themselves behind the 8-ball for the Open as a result.

Quiz: didn't *think* it was Bouchard, and if you'd said the # was 4 then I'd *known* it wasn't. Not really solid on Bassett or Kelesi's career numbers, so I figured it was probably one of those. :\

Wow, it's been a while for Vondrousova. At this point, I wonder if she'll even play in NY? (She has one match win since reaching the RG final.) And if she does play, will it even be worth it?

That said about Serena, I still maintain that if Svitolina had gotten by Halep in the SW19 semis then Williams would already have #24 in pocket and the path to sole possession of the top spot on the major title list would look *so* much clearer.

Do I even need to note how the Serena Twitter trolls would react if it was her opponent who retired four games into the final and then played another event two days later? I didn't think so.

Mon Aug 12, 02:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Mid week update.

Sasnovich ends 8 match losing streak.

Muguruza has not won since the French Open.

USO wild cards are out. Not a surprise that Tig, Rybakina and Bouzkova did not get one. Tig will have to play her way in, but with Cibulkova pulling out, and Kuznetsova in, Bouzkova is 2 out, and Rybakina is 4.

Seed updates:

1- No change as Osaka, Barty, Pliskova all alive.

4- Will either be Halep or Svitolina.

8- Williams, Sabalenka or Stephens.

9-16- Vondrousova still 16, but Keys, Kontaveit and Kenin have outside shots.

17-24- Anisimova's pullout leaves her vulnerable. Mertens takes the spot if she wins her next match, Hsieh needs help.

Last 4 in are the same, so are last 4 out, and of those 4, only Sakkari still alive.

Wed Aug 14, 09:56:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Late week update:

Battle for #1 still a 3 way race as Osaka, Barty and Pliskova still alive.

4-Halep locks up 4 seed.

8-S.Williams locks up 8 seed.

9-16- Vondrousova still there, but Keys jumps her if she wins her next match.

17-24- Anisimova still there, but Sakkari jumps her if she wins her next match.

25-32- Last 4 in are Suarez-Navarro, Hsieh, Sakkari, Strycova. If Venus wins tournament, she bumps Strycova.

First 4 out:Yastremska, Zhang, Collins, Riske.

Darkhorse Bouzkova gets in US Open directly as Haddad Maia is officially withdrawn. McHale and Rybakina next in.

Fri Aug 16, 09:16:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Even later update:

Bouchard's losing streak, including the Bronx, is now 10.

Hradecka going for back to back Cinci titles.

Osaka is #1, but Barty will be if she wins her next match.

9-16: Keys jumps to 15 and bumps Vondrousova into 17-24 bracket. Haven't checked the tiebreakers yet, but Konta at 16 will be tied with Kenin if she wins her next match.

Sat Aug 17, 09:21:00 AM EDT  

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