Sunday, September 01, 2019

US.6 - Call Her Naomi

Everyone seemingly gathered at Ashe Stadium to celebrate Coco Gauff. But the night turned out to be a proving ground for Naomi Osaka. Both between the lines and outside them.



Make no bones about it, no matter how much lip service was paid to the presence of the defending champion (who'd gone nearly a week into this slam without even being given a slot in the primetime session), Night 6 at this U.S. Open was designed to center around the ascension into the greater sports world's consciousness of 15-year old summer superstar Gauff, making her Ashe debut in the 3rd Round of her home slam just two months after her Round of 16 Wimbledon run gave her immediate first-name-only recognition ("Call Me Coco") not just in the tennis community, but with many people who rarely watch the sport at all (or maybe only when Serena, Venus, Roger or Rafa are in action).

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Do you believe?

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Oh, how quickly they forget.

It hasn't even been a year since Osaka stormed the stage and won this tournament, snatching history from the hands of Serena Williams, who (somehow... but you know how) managed to become the story of the final even while being dominated in it. ESPN didn't produce a pre-Open special revolving around Osaka's explosion on the slam scene, but it *did* make one about the embarrassing actions that took place in the match in which it all became official. But forgotten in all the rehash of that mess was how expertly Osaka handled the pressure of the situation that September night in Queens, and how she then went to Melbourne and became the first maiden slam winner in eighteen years (Capriati '01) to win #2 in her very next major.

Things have been a big rockier since then. She split with her coach, seemed to wander a bit, and hasn't won a title. But she arrived in New York as the #1 ranked player in the world. On Saturday night, the 21-year "old" reminded everyone why that's the case. In what might arguably be seen as the first true "pressure" match of her career (facing a streaking comet *six* years younger than herself, even Osaka admitted she felt like she *should* win, given her current standing in the game), she played what she described as her best and most focused match since the Australian Open, extending her winning streak at this major to ten matches (and in hard court slams to 17), with an impressively clean-cut, 6-3/6-0 victory over Gauff.

Then, afterward, she proved that at least someone learned something from what happened in last year's final, too.

It didn't take long for Gauff's still-a-work-in-progress second serve to begin to give her troubles. The teenager double-faulted on break point to fall behind 2-0 in the 1st. She broke back in game #5, but then dropped serve again a game later. Playing shots down the middle of the court, Osaka kept Gauff's great speed and running groundstroke shots at arm's length, and allowed the lingering cracks in her still-early-in-development game grow bigger. After taking the 1st at 6-3, she immediately jumped on the frustrated Gauff's serve again in the 2nd set, securing a double-break lead at 3-0 and then essentially coasting to a 6-0 finish to return to the U.S. Open Round of 16. It's her fourth such result in a major in her career. Two of the other three times (the most recent two, in fact) she ultimately won the title.



Typically, only the winner of a night session match is interviewed on the court. But Osaka took it upon herself to change that standard procedure, going directly to the teary Gauff and almost insisting that she take her turn at the microphone first. Later, she explained her reasoning.




Predictably, Gauff (who showed good self-awareness, initially balking and then making a point of saying she didn't want people to think she was trying to take her opponent's spotlight) ended up in tears, but so did Osaka as she pointed out Gauff's parents and complimented them on raising their daughter, referencing her memory of both players training at the same place years ago and, now, all this time later, both still working hard and having "made it."

It was small moment that will now be enlarged (likely a bit *too* much) for the purpose of hyping future match-ups between the two (hopefully there will be many on equally big stages). Within seconds, the ESPN Basket of Deplorables were already calling it the greatest act of kindness in human history. Or something like that. But the take away, it would seem, should be that Osaka did what she did because it felt like the right thing to do (granted, a novel concept in the Age of Hyper Self-Aggrandizement by individuals in high positions), and not as an attempt to clean up a mess that occurred due to a previously severe lack of judgment that threatened to leave a young player in tears when she should have been holding her head up high.

Hopefully -- crossing fingers -- Naomi would have been of the same mind to think about doing such a thing even if all that *hadn't* happened on the same court in 2018.

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Always love and respect ??

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In the end, both players "won" the moment, and the night. Gauff is still the future. And Osaka is still the present. Her move into the second week of this U.S. Open brings into the conversation notes about who was the last player to win AO/US titles in the same season (Angie Kerber in '16), as well as the last to win three consecutive hard court majors (Martina Hingis' AO-US-AO run in 1997-98). Next up for her is Belinda Bencic, Hingis' fellow Swiss, who has already beaten Osaka twice in 2019.

But not on this stage. Not yet, anyway.

After the match, Osaka commented about why she seems to rise to the occasion on nights such as this. "For me," she said, "this is kind of the moment that I live for. Even if the crowd isn't for me. I'm the type of person that loves when people come and watch. I'd rather be in a stadium where people are completely against me and it's completely full rather than a side court with ten people, but they're *for* me."

Actually, it's been a long time since *anyone* has beaten Osaka on a stage such the one the U.S. Open provides. If she can continue to channel the Naomi we saw on Saturday night, it won't likely be easy to do it next week, either. In fact, it might not happen at all.




=DAY 6 NOTES=
...during the daylight hours, the rest of the Round of 16 was filled out (the scheduled night match between #9 Belinda Bencic and Anett Kontaveit was cancelled when the Estonian withdrew due to a viral illness).

Two former slam champions fell to players who advanced into a slam 4th Round for the first time in their careers.

#15 Bianca Andreescu has been both her "usual" and "unusual" self through the first week of this U.S. Open. She's seamlessly executed her variety-filled game (mostly) to perfection, keeping her opponents off balance with nearly every shot in the book, enticingly employing both touch and power, as well as tactical aggression and defense. The "upset" is that she hasn't threatened to wear herself out, winning in straight sets and allowing herself to remain "fresh" as she's progressed through the draw. That was the case today, as well, as she eliminated two-time Flushing Meadows finalist Caroline Wozniacki, the #19 seed, 6-4/6-4 for her second win (w/ Auckland as part of her kick-off to her breakout '19 campaign) over the Dane this season.

Wozniacki had battled back from dropping the opening set in her first two matches at this slam, but wasn't able to do so this time. After Andreescu got the break for a 4-3 lead in the 1st, and served for the set at 5-4, Wozniacki injured her ankle during the game and was treated between sets. It likely hampered her throughout the early stages of the 2nd set, as she fell down two breaks at 3-0, with Andreescu getting within two points of a hold for 4-0. The Dane didn't pack it in, though. After getting the game #4 break, she rallied from love/40 to hold and pull within 3-2, then broke to level the set at 3-all. After falling behind again love/40 in game #7, Wozniacki saw Andreescu finally end her streak of five consecutive unconverted BP with a forehand winner down the line to break for 4-3. But Wozniacki broke back a game later.

Taking yet another love/40 lead on the Dane's serve in game #9, Andreescu got the break and served for the match. She started the game with the sort of shot -- a brilliant sliding forehand crosscourt winner -- that should she still be playing at this tournament *next* weekend we'll look back to and say, "Yeah, you could tell *that* was going to happen."



Moments later, after aggressively moving toward the net, but then sent to the backcourt to run down a Wozniacki lob (grinning as she went, she noted later, because she was mad she hadn't ended the point at the net), Andreescu fired back a backhand that dipped over the net and landed at the Dane's feet. She dumped her shot into the net, giving the Canadian triple match point. She put the win away with a forehand winner to secure her maiden Round of 16 berth at a major in her U.S. Open debut, just seven MD matches into her slam career.

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That was pretty cool ?? #week2LFG

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Meanwhile, 27-year old wild card Kristie Ahn, a New Jersey native playing in her own backyard, added yet another chapter to her storybook return to the Open after an eleven-year MD absence. She took out her second former slam champ in a week (w/ Svetlana Kuznetsova) with a 6-3/7-5 defeat of Alona Ostapenko, reaching her first slam 4th Round just six days after play began with Ahn having never won a grand slam match (she'd gone 0-3 with 1st Round losses in the '08 U.S., '18 AO and '19 WI).



Playing with her elbow and knee wrapped, Ahn will now continue to live *her* dream while that of her parents (especially her dad) remains deferred. They made a three-year deal to fund her tennis career after she graduated from Stanford, at the end of which in 2017 they figured she'd (surely) decide to walk away from the sport (or so they hoped) and "get a real job" in the corporate world. But Ahn's timing proved to be perfect (or horrible from Don & Fay's perspective) as she had her best season in '17, claiming her biggest title ($80K) and nearly reaching the Top 100. After slipping back down the rankings last year, Ahn's '19 campaign has once again vexed her parents: she's posted her best tour-level results, won the USTA's U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge and has now reached the 4th Round at Flushing Meadows. Her "live" ranking now has her into the Top 100.

As far as her future post-tennis plans are concerned, Ahn said earlier this week that she is "going to try and milk this as long as I can."

She finished off Ostapenko with an ace down the "T." Milk never tasted so good.



Three years after defeating Ahn in the final round of Open qualifying, #25 Elise Mertens will play her again in the Round of 16. The Belgian defeated Andrea Petkovic (who injured her ankle in the final game, but appeared to be okay) today 6-3/6-3 to reach the second week at her second consecutive U.S. Open.

Ahn has already defeated Mertens once this summer, to reach the QF in the tour-level event in San Jose in early August.

...qualifier Taylor Townsend didn't let her one-round-ago win over Simona Halep define her on Saturday, as she followed it up by defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, 7-5/6-2 to reach the 4th Round of a major for the first time. Like Halep, Cirstea didn't have an answer for Townsend's net-rushing attack. We'll see if Bianca Andreescu does in the next round.



#23 Donna Vekic handled Yulia Putintseva 6-4/6-1, giving the Croat there slam Round of 16 results in her last six majors (one each at RG, SW19 and the U.S.). #26 Julia Goerges advanced to the 4th Round at Flushing Meadows for the second time in three years with a 6-2/6-3 win over #7 Kiki Bertens, whose season has seen her reach four finals (2-2), score six Top 10 wins and crack the Top 5. But she's posted 2r-2r-3r-3r results in the majors. Since the Dutch woman's semifinal in Paris in 2016, she's reached one additional major QF ('18 Wimb.) along with 13 first week exits (six 3r, three 2r and four 1r).



Bencic's walkover past Kontaveit gives the Swiss her first second week run at the Open since her QF in her '14 debut. It's only her second slam 4th Round (w/ '18 Wimb.) since the 2016 Australian Open.

...the wheelchair competition begins next week. As things turn out, it'll be the *last* U.S. Open for Marjolein Buis, and a little over one year from now she'll be forced to give up her entire wheelchair tennis career.

You see, the veteran, six-time slam winner (1s/5d) and two-time Paralympic medalist (WD Gold & Silver), was in the headlines in recent days...





Buis uses a wheelchair in daily life, but because of a new set of rules that's not enough for her to continue her wheelchair career beyond next year. Thankfully, the Dutch tennis association protested the immediate enforcing of the rule (designed to bring WC tennis in line with other Paralympic sports, thereby maintaining the sport's medal status in the event) which would have prevented Buis from even qualifying for *next* year's Paralympics in Tokyo.

Buis has included a translation of the news about her status on her website.

While the decision to remain in line with the Paralympic rules is understandable, there has still been no *legitimate* reason given to Buis that explains *why* she'll no longer be eligible to compete beginning in January 2021 As she says on her site, it's "As if they are saying: you cannot participate if you have red hair. That’s how it feels to me.”





LIKE ON DAY 6:

"Oh, hey you."




Hmmm... ON DAY 6:

Not exactly the best form, considering her gave the crowd the middle finger during the match (so, of course they *really* turned on him), but I *do* wish Vika had spoken to the Australian Open fans like this years ago when she couldn't do anything without being booed.



Of course, then they probably would have actually passed those only-talked-about rules about grunting/on-court noise just to put her in her place.



But Medvedev will now be considered presidential material, no doubt.


TWENTY YEARS (!!) AGO ON DAY 6:




TIMING IS EVERYTHING (or not)... ON DAY 6:




And thus a new free agent enters the coaching market...


CAN SOMETHING BE BOTH POTENTIALLY CREEPY BUT ALSO QUITE NICE AT THE SAME TIME? ON DAY 6:

Maybe.




LIKE ON DAY 6:



So what if Kyrgios later lost on Saturday Night? Some, like the New York Post, tried to link one thing to the other... proving they know very little about the Aussie, as he probably would have lost anyway since the focus he showed in Washington earlier this summer hasn't exactly been ever-present since. Probably because everyone made a point of telling him how focused he'd been in Washington and wondered why he couldn't be like that *all* the time.

Where he's correct, he's correct. And he *was* correct.


WICKED TRUTH ON DAY 6:

That, on-court winners and losers aside, the special joy in knowing that the two matches this week that ESPN (which ignores so much else about the sport it covers) pumped up to the nth *both* ended up being routs.

It's enough to make you tear up... the Tennis Gods *really are* just and fair deliverers of justice.



I said there would be tangents in this space, and this certainly counts as such. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't have a "WTA Theme Song' selection. I do. I give you Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" from 1984:



Granted, the pronouns would need to be fixed up a bit (but that'd be easy).

"I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
(She's) gotta be strong
And (she's) gotta be fast
And (she's) gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
(She's) gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And (she's) gotta be larger than life!
Larger than life"


The song was originally recorded to be included (which I did *not* know) for the movie "Footloose." And, truthfully, judging from this, ummm... "tractor fight?"... that connection might be best left forgotten.



But, clearly, the lyrics are virtually made to be sung over "heroic" clips (you know, something like Serena showing up in a cape or cloak and then pulling off a "superhero-like" shot, or Bianca helicoptering in from some far-off land to rescue a trophy from someone else's clutches). See (just substitute Simona & Co. for Iron Man or Captain America, etc.)...



The song is quite versatile, having also been used in "Days of Our Lives," "Shrek 2," a Super Bowl commercial featuring Melissa McCarthy and even an ad for Walmart. Usually, the song isn't the original, and is covered by someone other than Tyler. But I'm here for *another* thing it was used for: a relatively unknown and forgotten show called "Cover Up," an action-adventure series on CBS that ran for just one season on CBS in 1984-85. It starred Jennifer O'Neill and Jon-Erik Hexum (and if you know the story then you already know what's coming up) as a fashion photographer (O'Neill) whose undercover CIA agent husband is murdered, leading her to recruit a former Special Forces Operator (Hexum) to help her find his killers. He poses as a male model, and together they travel the world in search of the truth.




In this instance, the song is sung by E.G. Daily, an actress, voice artist, comedienne and singer who was dating Hexum. Daily is noted for having voiced the title-character from the live-action film "Babe: Pig in the City," replacing Christine Cavanaugh, as well as voicing lead character Tommy Pickles in Nicktoon's "Rugrats."

Of course, the story here isn't the show (or Daily), but how Hexum died in a horrible accident on the set after having filmed just seven episodes. Here's how it's described on Wikipedia: "During a break between scenes on the set on Friday, October 12, 1984, Jon-Erik Hexum became bored with the filming delays. He began playing Russian roulette with what he believed was a harmless .44 Magnum prop gun and jokingly placed it to his temple and pulled the trigger. The shot sent the wadding from the blank cartridge at Hexum's skull, driving a bone fragment the size of a quarter into his brain and causing massive hemorrhaging. Hexum was rushed to the hospital, where he eventually was declared brain dead. On October 18, he was taken off life support.

(It's an obviously eerie fact that during the opening credits, when Hexum's name appears, a gun-wielding hand turns and fires a shot directly at the camera.)



Here's a short Entertainment Weekly piece about the incident.

"Cover Up" finished its season with actor Anthony Hamilton replacing Hexum in the cast as a different character (somewhat shockingly, they kept the opening sequence intact, with Hamilton filming duplicate shots of those originally filmed by Hexum that were then inserted into the credits). The show was cancelled after one season, but its legacy/infamy remains (on some level) because of the death of one of its stars, who might have had a significant career had he lived.

Prior to "Cover Up" he starred as Phineas Bogg in NBC's child-friendly, time-travel series "Voyagers!" in 1982-83. Hexum and his child co-star traveled through time to set things right. That show was ahead of the curve, and many shows that bring it to mind have come about on TV (including "Quantum Leap" and the recent "Timeless" on NBC) in the years since. Its fan base is still strong, as there are many tributes to be found on YouTube.



Hexum was then snatched up by Joan Collins (in her "Dynasty" heyday) to star in 1983’s "The Making of a Male Model" (you can probably guess how that one went). In 1984, having been a wide receiver at Michigan State, Hexum made his film debut as quarterback Pat Trammell in the Bear Bryant biopic "The Bear" (played by Gary Busey). Then he won the "Cover Up" role. And the rest, sadly, was history.

All right... tangent over.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Naomi Osaka/JPN [DC] vs. #13 Belinda Bencic/SUI
#23 Donna Vekic/CRO vs. #26 Julia Goerges/GER
(Q) Taylor Townsend/USA vs. #15 Bianca Andreescu/CAN
(WC) Kristie Ahn/USA vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL
#5 Elina Svitolina/UKR vs. #10 Madison Keys/USA
#16 Johanna Konta/GBR vs. #3 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#8 Serena Williams/USA vs. #22 Petra Martic/CRO
#18 Wang Qiang/CHN vs. #2 Ash Barty/AUS

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) vs. x/x
x/x vs. #8 Azarenka/Barty [DC] (BLR/AUS)
#3 Dabrowski/Xu (CAN/CHN) vs. Friedsam/Siegemund (GER/GER)
Kuzmova/Sasnovich (SVK/BLR) vs. Collins/Perez (USA/AUS)
x/x vs. #12 Duan/Sai.Zheng (CHN/CHN)
Golubic/Sorribes Tormo (SUI/ESP) vs. #4 Mertens/Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)
Guarachi/Pera (CHI/USA) vs. (PR) Dolehide/King (USA/USA)
x/x vs. #2 Hsieh/Strycova (TPE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL) def. Krawczyk/Salisbury (USA/GBR)
#8 Peschke/Koolhof (USA/NED) def. Duan/Demoliner (CHN/BRA)
#4 L.Chan/Dodig (TPE/CRO) vs. Olaru/Skugor (ROU/CRO)
Spears/Bopanna (USA/IND) vs. Atawo/Martin (USA/FRA)
#6 Schuurs/Kontinen (NED/FIN) vs. (WC) Brady/Kudla (USA/USA)
Flipkens/Roger-Vasselin (BEL/FRA) vs. #3 Stosur/Ram (AUS/USA)
#5 Melichar/Soares (USA/BRA) vs. (WC) Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) [DC]
(WC) Carter/Withrow (USA/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO)

*GIRLS SINGLES SEEDS*
1. Emma Navarro, USA
2. Diane Parry, FRA
3. Alex Noel, USA
4. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
5. Zheng Qinwen, CHN
6. Natsumi Kawaguchi, JPN
7. Kamilla Bartone, LAT
8. Hurricane Tyra Black, USA
9. Sada Nahimana, BDI
10. Alina Charaeva, RUS
11. Manachaya Sawangkaew, THA
12. Park So-hyun, KOR
13. Abigail Forbes, USA
14. Anastsia Tikhonova, RUS
15. Polina Kudermetova, RUS
16. Else Jacquemot, FRA




City Sights...













*2019 U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 Naomi Osaka
#2 Ash Barty
#3 Karolina Pliskova
#5 Elina Svitolina
#8 Serena Williams
#9 Madison Keys
#12 Belinda Bencic
#15 Bianca Andreescu
#16 Johanna Konta
#18 Wang Qiang
#22 Petra Martic
#23 Donna Vekic
#26 Elise Mertens
#30 Julia Goerges
#116 Taylor Townsend
#141 Kristie Ahn
[by age]
37 - S.Williams
30 - Goerges
28 - Konta, Martic
27 - Ahn, Ka.Pliskova, Q.Wang
24 - Madison,Svitolina
23 - Barty, Mertens, Townsend, Vekic
22 - Bencic
21 - Naomi Osaka
19 - Andreescu
[by nation]
4...USA (Ahn,Keys,Townsend,S.Williams)
2...CRO (Martic,Vekic)
1...AUS (Barty)
1...BEL (Mertens)
1...CAN (Andreescu)
1...CHN (Q.Wang)
1...CZE (Ka.Pliskova)
1...GBR (Konta)
1...GER (Goerges)
1...JPN (Osaka)
1...SUI (Bencic)
1...UKR (Svitolina)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
61 - Serena Williams
14 - Madison Keys
10 - Karolina Pliskova
10 - Elina Svitolina
8 - Johanna Konta
7 - Julia Goerges
7 - Petra Martic
5 - Ash Barty
5 - Belinda Bencic
5 - Elise Mertens
4 - Naomi Osaka
3 - Donna Vekic
1 - Kristie Ahn
1 - Bianca Andreescu
1 - Taylor Townsend
1 - Wang Qiang
[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
5 - Ash Barty
3 - Johanna Konta
3 - Petra Martic
2 - Elise Mertens
2 - Karolina Pliskova
2 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Serena Williams
[w/ multiple career US Round of 16's]
18 - Serena Williams
5 - Madison Keys
4 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Johanna Konta
3 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Ash Barty
2 - Belinda Bencic
2 - Julia Goerges
2 - Elise Mertens
2 - Naomi Osaka
[w/ consecutive US Round of 16's]
5 - Madison Keys
4 - Karolina Pliskova
3 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Ash Barty
2 - Elise Mertens
2 - Naomi Osaka
2 - Serena Williams [18 con US app.]
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
61...Serena Williams
50...Venus Williams
40...Maria Sharpova
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova
23...Victoria Azarenka
22...Jelena Jankovic
21...Caroline Wozniacki
19...Angelique Kerber
18...Petra Kvitova
16...Simona Halep, Carla Suarez-Navarro, Vera Zvonareva
15...Ekaterina Makarova
14...Madison Keys
13...Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens
12...Samantha Stosur
10...Dominika Cibulkova, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina
[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2010 - active]
29...Serena Williams
23...Maria Sharapova
19...Angelique Kerber
18...Victoria Azarenka
17...Caroline Wozniacki
16...Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova
15...Ekaterina Makarova, Venus Williams
14...Madison Keys, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Carla Suarez-Navarro
13...Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - youngest]
15 - Coco Gauff (WI)
17 - Amanda Anisimova (AO)
17 - Amanda Anisimova (RG)
18 - Iga Swiatek (RG)
19 - Bianca Andreescu (US)
19 - Marketa Vondrousova (RG)
19 - Dayana Yastremska (WI)
20 - Sofia Kenin (RG)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - oldest]
37 - Serena Williams (US)
37 - Serena Williams (WI)
37 - Serena Williams (AO)
33 - Kaia Kanepi (RG)
33 - Barbora Strycova (WI)
31 - Maria Sharapova (AO)
31 - Angelique Kerber (AO)
30 - Julia Goerges (US)
30 - Carla Suarez-Navrro (WI)
30 - Zhang Shuai (WI)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - unseeded]
AO - Amanda Anisimova, USA
AO - Danielle Collins, USA
AO - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
RG - Amanda Anisimova, USA
RG - Aliona Bolsova, ESP (Q)
RG - Kaia Kanepi, EST
RG - Sonya Kenin, USA
RG - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
RG - Iga Swiatek, POL
RG - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
WI - Coco Gauff, USA (Q)
WI - Karolina Muchova, CZE
WI - Alison Riske, USA
WI - Barbora Styrcova, CZE
WI - Dayana Yastremska, UKR
WI - Zhang Shuai, CHN
US - Kristie Ahn, USA (WC)
US - Taylor Townsend, USA (Q)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.]
AO - Amanda Anisimova, USA
AO - Danielle Collins, USA
RG - Aliona Bolsova, ESP
RG - Sonya Kenin, USA
RG - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
RG - Iga Swiatek, POL
WI - Coco Gauff, USA
WI - Karolina Muchova, CZE
WI - Dayana Yastremska, UKR
US - Kristie Ahn, USA
US - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
US - Taylor Townsend, USA
US - Wang Qiang, CHN
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - lowest-ranked]
#313 - Coco Gauff (WI)
#141 - Kristie Ahn (US)
#137 - Aliona Bolsova (RG)
#116 - Taylor Townsend (US)
#104 - Iga Swiatek (RG)
#88 - Kaia Kanepi (RG)
#87 - Amanda Anisimova (AO)
#68 - Karolina Muchova (WI)
#55 - Alison Riske (WI)
#54 - Barbora Strycova (WI)
#51 - Amanda Anisimova (RG)
#50 - Zhang Shuai (WI)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's]
4 - Ash Barty (AO/RG/WI/US)
3 - Simona Halep (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Madison Keys (AO/RG/US)
3 - Johanna Konta (RG/WI/US)
3 - Petra Martic (RG/WI/US)
3 - Karolina Pliskova (AO/WI/US)
3 - Elina Svitolina (AO/WI/US)
3 - Serena Williams (AO/WI/US)
2 - Amanda Anisimova (AO/RG)
2 - Ash Barty (AO/RG)
2 - Petra Kvitova (AO/WI)
2 - Elise Mertens (WI/US)
2 - Garbine Muguruza (AO/RG)
2 - Naomi Osaka (AO/US)
2 - Anastasija Sevastova (AO/RG)
2 - Sloane Stephens (AO/RG)
2 - Donna Vekic (RG/US)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - by nation]
16..USA (Ahn,Anisimova-2,Collins,Gauff,Kenin,Keys-3,Riske,Stephens-2,Townsend,S.Williams-3)
9...CZE (Kvitova-2,Muchova,Ka.Pliskova-3,Siniakova,Strycova,Vondrousova)
5...CRO (Martic-3,Vekic-2)
4...AUS (Barty-4)
4...ESP (Bolsova,Muguruza-2,Suarez-Navarro)
4...UKR (Svitolina-3,Yastremska)
3...GBR (Konta-3)
3...ROU (Halep-3)
2...BEL (Mertens-2)
2...CHN (Q.Wang,Sh.Zhang)
2...GER (Goerges,Kerber)
2...JPN (Osaka-2)
2...LAT (Sevastova-2)
2...RUS (Pavlyuchenkova,Sharapova)
1...CAN (Andreescu)
1...EST (Kanepi)
1...POL (Swiatek)
1...SUI (Bencic)
[2019 slam Rd. of 16's - by region]
27 (7) - Western Europe/Scandinavia (BEL-CRO-CZE-ESP-GBR-GER-POL-SUI)
17 (5) - North America/Atlantic (CAN-USA)
13 (1) - Eastern Europe/Russia (EST-LAT-ROU-RUS-UKR)
8 (3) - Asia/Oceania (AUS-CHN-JPN)
0 (-) - Africa/Middle East (none)
0 (-) - South America (none)


**U.S. OPEN "LAST WILD CARD STANDING" WINNERS**
2007 Ahsha Rolle, USA (3rd Rd.)
2008 Severine Bremond, FRA (4th Rd.)
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W)
2010 Beatrice Capra, USA & Virginie Razzano, FRA (3rd)
2011 Sloane Stephens, USA (3rd Rd.)
2012 Mallory Burdette/USA & Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (3rd)
2013 Alison Riske, USA (4th Rd.)
2014 Nicole Gibbs, USA (3rd Rd.)
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (3rd Rd.)
2016 L.Davis/USA, K.Day/USA, V.King/USA (3rd Rd.)
2017 Maria Sharapova, RUS (4th Rd.)
2018 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (3rd Rd.)
2019 Kristie Ahn, USA (in 4th Rd.)
[2019]
AO: Kimberly Birrell, AUS (3rd Rd.)
RG: L.Davis/USA, P.Hon/AUS and D.Parry/FRA (2nd Rd.)
WI: Harriet Dart, GBR (3rd Rd.)
US: Kristie Ahn, USA (in 4th Rd.)

**U.S. OPEN "COMEBACK" WINNERS**
2007 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2008 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
2012 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2014 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2015 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2019 Taylor Townsend, USA
[2019]
AO: Petra Kvitova, CZE
RG: Johanna Konta, GBR
WI: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (MX)
US: Taylor Townsend, USA

**U.S. OPEN "BROADWAY-BOUND" WINNERS**
2010 Vania King, USA
2011 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2012 "Future Sloane" (Stephens), USA
2013 Camila Giorgi, ITA
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2015 Lisa Raymond, USA
2016 Kayla Day, USA
2017 Opening Night: Sharapova vs. Halep
2018 Kaia Kanepi, EST
2019 "Call Me Coco" (Gauff) summer preview show

**BACKSPIN 2019 WTA "FRESH FACE" WINNERS**
JAN: Bianca Andreescu/CAN and Sofia Kenin/USA
AO: Amanda Anisimova/USA and Dayana Yastremska/UKR
FEB/MAR: Dayana Yastremska/UKR
I.W./MIAMI: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
1Q: Bianca Andreescu/CAN
APR: Amanda Anisimova/USA
MAY: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
RG: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE and Amanda Anisimova/USA
2Q Clay Court: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
JUN: Sofia Kenin/USA
WI: Coco Gauff/USA
2Q Grass Court: Coco Gauff/USA
JUL/AUG: Fiona Ferro/FRA
AUG (pre-U.S.): Sofia Kenin/USA
[2019 Weekly FRESH FACE Award Wins]
7 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL
6 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR
5 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
5 - Sofia Kenin, USA
5 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
4 - Tamra Zidansek, SLO
3 - Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2 - Amanda Anisimova, USA
2 - Anna Blinkova, RUS
2 - Kaja Juvan, SLO
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
2 - Taylor Townsnd, USA

**BACKSPIN 2019 WTA "JUNIOR STAR" WINNERS**
JAN: Dasha Lopatetska/UKR
AO: Clara Tauson/DEN
FEB/MAR: Lulu Sun/SUI
I.W./MIAMI: Clara Tauson/DEN
1Q: Clara Tauson/DEN
APR: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
MAY: Emma Navarro/USA
RG: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
2Q Clay Court: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
JUN: Coco Gauff/USA
WI: Daria Snigur/UKR
2Q Grass Court: Daria Snigur/UKR
JUL/AUG: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
AUG (pre-U.S.): Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
[2019 Weekly JUNIOR STAR Award Wins]
6 - Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
5 - Emma Navarro, USA
4 - Dasha Lopatetska, UKR
4 - Daria Snigur, UKR
4 - Clara Tauson, DEN
3 - Coco Gauff, USA
3 - Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
3 - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL
2 - Kamilla Bartone, LAT
2 - Alina Charaeva, RUS
2 - Charlotte Chavatipon, USA
2 - Polina Kudermetova, RUS
2 - Alexa Noel, USA
2 - Diane Parry, FRA



TOP QUALIFIER: Peng Shuai/CHN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #10 Madison Keys/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Isabella Shinikova/BUL def. Sachia Vickery/USA 6-1/4-6/7-6(6) - Shinikova MTO down MP at 6-5 in 3rd set TB, then comes back and wins 3 con. pts. to advance. Shinikova limps to net for her handshake, then Vickery airs out her frustrations on Twitter after the leaves the court.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - (Q) Taylor Townsend/USA def. #4 Simona Halep/ROU 2-6/6-3/7-6(4)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - #8 S.Williams d. (WC) McNally - 17-year old takes Williams to three sets in Ashe debut
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Ana Bogdan/ROU (def. Dart/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #27 Caroline Garcia, FRA (1st Rd. - lost to Jabeur/TUN)
UPSET QUEENS: Russia
REVELATION LADIES: United States
NATION OF POOR SOULS: ESP (1-4 in 1st Rd.; seeded Muguruza and CSN/ret. out)
CRASH & BURN: #11 Sloane Stephens/USA (1st Rd. - '17 champ lost to qualifier A.Kalinskaya on Ashe for first career slam MD win)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominees: Townsend (2nd Rd. - 1 MP vs. Halep), Goerges (1st Rd. - 1 MP vs. Vikhlyantseva)
IT ("??"): Nominees: Andreescu, "McCoco"
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Taylor Townsend/USA (in 4th Rd.) (LL: Flipkens-2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Kristie Ahn/USA (in 4th Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 4th Rd.: Ahn, Keys, Townsend, S.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: Taylor Townsend/USA
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Kristie Ahn/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Call Me Coco" summer preview show
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: S.Williams (2-0)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 6. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:35 AM 

5 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Griffioen was the 2016 Paralympic winner, so there was going to be someone new anyway, guess I will root for Buis. Some common sense is needed on that ruling.

Regarding Serena's 61 Round on 16's-There isn't anybody else on that list that has even played 61 slams. Goerges has played 47, the last 46 in a row.

Dolehide/King still alive in doubles.

Navarro seems to be knocking on the slam door, so her or Kudermetova.

Stat of the Day- 13- The amount of women in the sweet sixteen with a title on hard.

Piggybacking on Todd's Round of 16 post like I usually do, listed will be the most recent title on hard, then best result for the non titlists. Then notes after.

Vekic- 2014 Kuala Lumpur
S.Williams- 2017 Australian Open
Konta- 2017 Miami
Wang- 2018 Guangzhou
Svitolina- 2018 YEC
Goerges- 2019 Auckland
Pliskova- 2019 Brisbane
Osaka- 2019 Australian Open
Mertens- 2019 Doha
Bencic- 2019 Dubai
Barty- 2019 Miami
Andreescu- 2019 Toronto
Keys- 2019 Cincinnati

Martic- 2012 Kuala Lumpur RU/2012 Copenhagen SF
Townsend- 2018 IW125K/2019 US Open 4th rd
Ahn- 2-17 Tyler ITF/2019 San Jose QF

Some similarities in stats, but instead of teasing you, I will open with the most shocking one first.

Townsend is one win away from her first career WTA QF. Possibly because she has been gaming the system in regards to ITF play. Reached the top 100 for the first time in Jan. 15, yet won 8 of her 10 ITF titles after that date.

Andreescu has reached all of her career finals on hard in 2019.

Wang has reached all of her career finals on hard in 2018.

Pick Ostapenko to make a random run to a final in Asia to play Andreescu. Bianca was played the other 3 2018 Wimbledon SF in finals this year, beating Kerber and Williams, but losing to Goerges.

Konta's 3 titles are on hard, but her last 4 finals, all losses, have been on other surfaces.

Vekic is not a claymate. Has reached 5 finals on hard and 3 on grass.

Bencic is not a claymate. Has reached 6 finals on hard and 3 on grass.

Barty has won on all 3 surfaces this season-Miami-French Open-Birmingham.

Svitolina has won a title 6 consecutive seasons, not including this one.

Goerges has reached 16 finals, one more than Svitolina. Only Serena(obviously), and Pliskova have reached more in this group.

Keys doing it again. 8 of her 9 finals have been in either UK or North America.

Mertens putting a twist on her season. All 6 of her career finals have been before June.

Ahn is the ITF version of Keys. Not slamming her for it, as lower ranked players travel less, but 11 of her 14 finals have been in North America.

Sun Sep 01, 09:45:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ha! Hadn't realized that w/ Serena's 61 number, but *so* true.

I went with Navarro, too. I had Noel def. Kudermetova in the semis, but I don't know if Noel is as good on HC to justify that or not (she was in the Wimb. final). Had Bartone in the other semi.

Note: if Serena doesn't win here her no-title stretch will almost surely be at three years some the AO in January.

Andreescu has only played *three* matches on anything other than HC all year (and two of those were in FC). Won't change from here until November, either, I guess.

Svitolina's still looking for '19 final #1, as well.

It's interesting that the U.S. has been Wang's best slam by far (8 wins, more than double any other), while it was Li Na's "worst" numbers-wise (but only by a tad over Wimbledon, and she had a SF in NY in her final appearance, but none at SW19).

Sun Sep 01, 10:52:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

This morning, Sam Gore called the Naomi-Coco incident "one of the few good sports moments this year."

Sun Sep 01, 11:34:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

They'll probably give someone an award at the ESPYs, too. ;)

Sun Sep 01, 01:13:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Makes you long for the good old days of "Kim Clijsters had a baby!"

Sun Sep 01, 01:17:00 PM EDT  

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