Monday, September 02, 2019

US.8 - The Swiss is Back

Belinda Bencic has come 'round this way before. Five years ago, in fact. Back when *she* was the latest breakout teenage tennis star proving to be adept at handling herself on the big stage.

After persevering through the usual sort of trials and tribulations that befall such phenoms, finally, the Swiss is back.

She's a Swiss, she's a Swiss oh, the Swiss is back
Finally stone cold healthy as a matter of fact
She can Swiss, she can Swiss 'cause she's better than you
It's the way that she grooves, the things that she'll do
Oh-oh-oh...



While so many teenagers are currently the talk of the tennis world, it's always good to remember that it's not as if this is a *totally* unique occurrence. Most great players were teen breakout stars at one time or another, but just as many (and more) never quite reach that status as they instead stall out somewhere between Point "A" and "$". For the ones who ultimately do reach the top level of the sport, the past is prologue. But for others, it's a series of frustrations, disappointments and lost opportunities.

In 2019, we've seen the now 22-year old Bencic successfully surf the divide between the two realities. Today, with her *third* win this season over reigning U.S. Open champ and world #1 (well, for a few more days) Naomi Osaka in the Round of 16, the Swiss effectively hit the "reset" button on her slam career, reaching her second major quarterfinal five years after she'd advanced to her first in her Flushing Meadows debut in 2014.

Back then, "The Kid" wasn't named Coco, Bianca, Amanda, or Marketa. She was "Belinda," backed up by a coaching link (Melanie Molitor) to a Hall of Famer (Martina Hingis, her daughter) and the sort of immunity to pressure that tends to cause talented phenoms to not realize what they shouldn't be able to do. Bencic won multiple junior slam crowns, then was an immediate Fed Cup star, rising above her more experienced teammates. After becoming the youngest U.S. Open quarterfinalist in two decades (since Hingis), a run during which she posted two (over Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic) Top 10 wins, she was named the WTA's 2014 Newcomer of the Year honoree and finished in the Top 35. In 2015, she put on one of the decade's best performances when she won the Rogers Cup in Toronto, downing four Top 10 players to win her biggest title and become the youngest Premier 5-or-better champ in six years. A season later, the 18-year old found herself ranked #7 in the world.

But nothing is ever a "given."

Her next few years on (and off) tour were plagued by injuries. Leg, hand, back and wrist (for which she had surgery in '17) issues pushed her ranking outside the Top 300. She managed to get back into the Top 170 by the end of that season, then slowly climbed her way back over the course of 2018, returning to the Top 40.

This season, though, she's begun to reclaim what those "lost years" took from her. Her title run in Dubai, her first in four years, resembled her Toronto run as she again knocked off four Top 10ers. She followed her win up with another good hard court result: a semifinal in Indian Wells. A span of ten matches saw her post victories over the likes of Osaka (#1), Simona Halep, Karolina Pilskova, Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka. An additional win over Osaka (also as #1) on clay in Madrid (en route to the semis) followed, as did another over Kerber on grass in Mallorca (she reached the final). But as the season wore on, while Bencic rose within arm's reach of a return to the Top 10, her slam results were stuck in neutral. Back-to-back-to-back 3rd Round finishes in the '19 majors left her somewhat on the outside looking in, having fashioned a fine comeback season (though she'd already been nominated for *that* honor by the tour for her '18 jump from #165 to #37) but without a signature big stage result on which to jauntily hang her hat.

Well, she took care of that today by once again assuming the role of Osaka's personal Kryponite.

Against the once-again world #1, #13-seeded Bencic opened the day with a break of serve. Osaka avoided a double-break deficit two games later by saving four BP and holding for 2-1, then found her game as she got the break back and led the on-serve set 5-4. But Bencic broke serve again to take the 1st, then grabbed a break lead in the 2nd at 3-2. As Osaka's movement (or perhaps her waning confidence, as well) seemed hampered by the wrapped knee she originally injured in Cincinnati, Bencic took control and served out the 2nd at 6-4 to record her third #1 win of the season and improve to 4-1 in her career vs. top-ranked women.

After having ended Osaka's title defense in Indian Wells earlier this year with a win in the 4th Round, Bencic does it again to the Japanese star at Flushing Meadows, ending her (current) run in the #1 spot (Ash Barty will reclaim the spot next week) and bring to a close her 10-match U.S. Open and 17-match hard court slam winning streaks. Bencic has now recorded nine Top 10 wins on the season, surpassing the career-high number she posted back in '15.



That it took sixteen slam appearances for Bencic to return to the slam quarterfinal stage says a great deal about the dangers of heaping expectations upon the backs of young stars, but that the Swiss is finally back there today also proves that, once the storm clouds part and sun looks down upon her kind again, the underlying *talent* can also win out.




=DAY 8 NOTES=
...another rainy day in the New York limited much of the afternoon's action to the roofed show courts, but that didn't stop the other scheduled Round of 16 singles matches from proceeding as scheduled.

In the first, #23 Donna Vekic advanced to her maiden slam QF with a 6-7(5)/7-5/6-3 win over #26 Julia Goerges, overcoming the German serving for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd and holding a MP. Goerges had *saved* a MP in her 1st Round match vs. Natalia Vikhlyantseva.



In that key game, Goerges double-faulted three times, then on Vekic's second BP came in to serve-and-volley behind a slow-moving second serve and promptly committed the self-breaking error. About an hour later, the Croat served for the match. After a DF put Vekic behind love/30, Goerges got two BP chances after a drop shot/reflex volley winner combination, but then missed on an overhead when Vekic had reached MP.

23-year Vekic, like her good friend and oft-time practice partner Bencic, was also a teenage phenom. She reached the Top 100 at age 16, and won a tour title a 17. But she, too, has had to fall a bit before she could rise again

Guided by former Kerber coach Torben Beltz since 2017, Vekic has found new reservoirs of grit and confidence the last few seasons, putting together back-to-back resurgent campaigns (#56 and #34 finishes) after two years in which she ended up outside the Top 100. Six of her seven career Top 10 victories have come in the last twenty-six months. This result will lift her to the cusp of breaking into the Top 20 (#21 in the "live" rankings) for the first time.



In the last Round of 16 match-up of the day session, #25 Elise Mertens ended wild card Kristie Ahn's dream Open with a 6-1/6-1 win to reach her first U.S. Open quarterfinal. It's the second of the Belgian's career, following her SF run at the Australian Open in just her fifth career slam MD last season.



...in the night session, #15 Bianca Andreescu and qualifier Taylor Townsend will face off to determine who'll be the fourth player of the group of four quarterfinalists in the top half that'll face off to determine which will be the tour's latest first-time slam finalist.

If it involves anyone other than Mertens, the battle for the berth in the final will be contested between *two* first-time major semifinalists.




LIKE ON DAY 8:




HOPE ON DAY 8:

That the overrated Melbourne and picky Parisian crowds will be called out come 2020 for their boorish behavior. It's easy to rag on U.S. fans (let's face it, it's easy to rag on the U.S. period, even if you're *from* the U.S., at the moment), but New York City is still New York City. While any crowd could be populated with a-holes, it's also true that if you bully ball/towel kids and give the crowd the finger, you're *making* enemies there, not a victim of them. The aforementioned slam crowds, especially those in the former, often get a pass on their nasty behavior.

That said, Medvedev is good theater... and how fun/interesting would a Medvedev/Federling guy semifinal be? Black Hat vs. White Hat: Flushing Meadow Edition.




AND SO IT GOES... ON DAY 8:





Today's "WTA Theme Song" is centered more on a notion than the aspects of a particular song. For the record, though, it's Janelle Monae's "Tightrope" that gets injected into the mix today.

["Tightrope" - Janelle Monae, 2010]


Monae's talent was obvious from the moment she first crashed the music scene about a decade ago (I wasn't sure how old she was then, but since she's 33 now she was just 23-24 when she did "Tightrope"... not a stunner, but still impressive in retrospect). Since then, she's become a far bigger star, started a notable acting career ("Moonlight" and "Hidden Figures"), put on some truly remarkable live performances on HUGE occasions, and as we've just recently learned, is capable of lighting a firestorm with a simple tweet.

Yet, somehow, she doesn't seem to have the overall presence that someone of her talent *should* at this point. There's a "mainstream success," which she has become, but there's also a "superstar" status (say on the level of Lady Gaga) that she *hasn't* reached. She's not even yet been given a Grammy award, having gone 0-for-8 in her nominations.

In some ways, she's like some of the WTA fan favorites that have never have quite registered as the "stars" they should be, or it took quite a long time for it to happen. On some level, the many artistic delights of an Aga Radwanska, while appreciated by those in the know, never really broke out beyond the "tennis circle of trust" like they *should* have during her career. I think a series of Aga's magical drop shots and tricky angles would play quite nice with "Tightrope" playing behind them. But, again, this is more of a notion than a rock-solid belief.

I'm tempted to wonder if the game of someone like Bianca Andreescu -- with all its gifts to the eyes and soul -- might end up in something of the same place. Just to give an example: she won two of the biggest non-slam titles played in North America (Indian Wells and Toronto) this season, but was virtually (or, you know, totally) ignored during ESPN's talking head shows the following Monday. Anecdotal, yes... but Coco Gauff gets big flashing headlines and long discussions for winning just a few matches.

I suppose we could be about to see that question about Andreescu tested again this week, for if she were to reach the final of this Open, but play Serena, will her name even make it into a headline, win or lose? It's barely happened -- or NOT happened -- for the likes of Kerber and Osaka after recent slam final triumphs over Williams, and Andreescu was given similar treatment when Serena retired (and became the *only* story in the middle of their Toronto final) in their only head-to-head meeting to date.


YouTube Research Finds:

["Make Me Feel" - Janelle Monae, 2019 Grammys]
...the song didn't win an award, but Monae stole the show in February with a Grammy show performance of "Make Me Feel" that managed to channel James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince all at the same time.



["Tightrope" - Janelle Monae, Live at Lollapalooza - August 2019]
...can't help but think of that old Freddie Mercury Live Aid concert footage when I watch this (from just last month).



And, no, Monae wasn't today's selection because of her unexpected appearance in the news over the past week when she made a (since-deleted-and-apologized for, though many didn't think it was necessary no matter how much outrage people can generate since, you know, that's seems to be what we're best at these days) comment about people lining up for blocks for a taste of the new Popeyes chicken sandwich and how she wished such a frenzy occurred around Election Day.

This segment was planned long before all that.




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

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. Kalinskaya/Putintseva (RUS/KAZ)
#8 Azarenka/Barty [DC] (BLR/AUS) def. (WC) Gauff/McNally (USA/USA)
#3 Dabrowski/Xu (CAN/CHN) def. Friedsam/Siegemund (GER/GER)
Kuzmova/Sasnovich (SVK/BLR) def. Collins/Perez (USA/AUS)
#12 Duan/Sai.Zheng (CHN/CHN) def. Pavyluchenkova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT)
#4 Mertens/Sabalenka (BEL/BLR) def. Golubic/Sorribes Tormo (SUI/ESP)
(PR) Dolehide/King (USA/USA) def. Guarachi/Pera (CHI/USA)
#14 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) vs. #2 Hsieh/Strycova (TPE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
#1 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL) vs. #8 Peschke/Koolhof (USA/NED)
#4 L.Chan/Dodig (TPE/CRO) vs. Atawo/Martin (USA/FRA)
#6 Schuurs/Kontinen (NED/FIN) vs. #3 Stosur/Ram (AUS/USA)
(WC) Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR) [DC] vs. #2 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO)




City Sights...

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*2019 U.S. OPEN OPEN FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
52 - Serena Williams, USA
6 - Johanna Konta, GBR
6 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL
1 - B.Andreescu/CAN or T.Townsend/USA
1 - Donna Vekic, CRO
1 - Wang Qiang, CHN
[by career US QF]
16 - Serena Williams, USA
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL
1 - B.Andreescu/CAN or T.Townsend/USA
1 - Johanna Konta, GBR
1 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
1 - Donna Vekic, CRO
1 - Wang Qiang, CHN
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
3 - Johanna Konta
2 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Serena Williams
[w/ consecutive US QF]
2 - Serena Williams (+last 11 appearances)
[2019 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Danielle Collins, USA
AO - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
RG - Amanda Anisimova, USA
RG - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
WI - Karolina Muchova, CZE
WI - Alison Riske, USA
WI - Barbora Strycova, CZE
WI - Zhang Shuai, CHN
(US - Townsend is unseeded)
[2019 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Ash Barty, AUS
AO - Danielle Collins, USA
RG - Amanda Anisimova, USA
RG - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
WI - Karolina Muchova, CZE
WI - Alison Riske, USA
US - B.Andreescu/CAN or T.Townsend/USA
US - Donna Vekic, CRO
US - Wang Qiang, CHN
[2019 slam QF]
3 - Johanna Konta, GBR
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
3 - Serena Williams, USA
2 - Ash Barty, AUS
2 - Simona Halep, ROU
1 - AO (5): Collins,Kvitova,Osaka,Pavlyuchenkova,Ka.Pliskova
1 - RG (5): Anisimova,Keys,Martic,Stephens,Vondrousova
1 - WI (4): Muchova,Riske,Strycova,Sh.Zhang
1 - US (4): Bencic,Mertens,Vekic,Q.Wang
(+ Andreescu/CAN or Townsend/USA)
[2019 slam QF - by nation]
8...USA (2/3/2/1) - Anisimova,Collins,Keys,Riske,Stephens,S.Williams-3
5...CZE (2/1/2/0) - Kvitova,Muchova,Ka.Pliskova,Strycova,Vondrousova
3...GBR (0/1/1/1) - Konta-3
3...UKR (1/0/1/1) - Svitolina-3
2...AUS (1/1/0/0) - Barty-2
2...CHN (0/0/1/1) - Q.Wang,Sh.Zhang
2...CRO (0/1/0/1) - Martic,Vekic
2...ROU (0/1/1/0) - Halep-2
1...BEL (0/0/0/1) - Mertens
1...JPN (1/0/0/0) - Osaka
1...RUS (1/0/0/0) - Pavlyuchenkova
1...SUI (0/0/0/1) - Bencic
(+ Andreescu/CAN or Townsend/USA)
[WTA career slam QF - active]
52...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
25...Maria Sharapova, RUS
16...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
13...Simona Halep, ROU
11...Petra Kvitova, CZE
10...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
9...Angelique Kerber, GER
8...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
8...Jelena Jankovic, SRB (?)
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Madison Keys, USA
7...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Elina Svitolina, UKR
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
5...Sabine Lisicki, GER
5...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
[WTA slam QF in 2010's - active]
24...Serena Williams, USA
14...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
13...Simona Halep, ROU
12...Maria Sharapova, RUS
11...Petra Kvitova, CZE
10..Angelique Kerber, GER
9...Venus Williams, USA
9...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
7...Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Madison Keys, USA
7...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Samantha Stosur, AUS
6...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Elina Svitolina, UKR


**WTA "CAREER SF SLAM" - active**
[with slam at which completed]
Victoria Azarenka - 2013 RG (30th)
Simona Halep - 2018 AO (31st)
Maria Sharapova - 2007 RG (18th)
Serena Williams - 2003 AO (18th)
Venus Williams - 2001 AO (15th)
Vera Zvonareva - 2010 US (31st)
--
NOTE: Konta needs U.S. for all four

**U.S. OPEN UNSEEDED QF**
[since 32-seed draw in 2001]
2001 Daja Bedanova, CZE
2002 Elena Bovina, RUS
2004 Shinobu Asagoe, JPN
2007 Agnes Szavay, HUN
2009 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL (WC) - won title
2009 Melanie Oudin, USA
2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEK
2010 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
2013 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2015 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA - reached final
2016 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2016 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA - won title
2017 Kaia Kanepi, ESP (Q)
2018 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
--
NOTE: Townsend is an unseeded wild card

**U.S. OPEN LOWEST-RANKED QF**
[since 1975 rankings]
Unranked - 1977 Billie Jean King
Unranked - 1979 Billie Jean King
Unranked - 1981 Barbara Gerken
Unranked - 1982 Gretchen Rush
Unranked - 2009 Kim Clijsters [W]
#418 - 2017 Kaia Kanepi
#103 - 1980 Barbara Hallquist
#92 - 2016 Ana Konjuh
#92 - 2011 Angelique Kerber
--
NOTE: Townsend is #116

*BEST 2019 SLAM RESULTS*
[qualifiers]
4th Rd. - Aliona Bolsova, ESP (RG)
4th Rd. - Coco Gauff, USA (WI)
4th Rd. - Taylor Townsend, USA (US) [to play]
3rd Rd. - Anna Blinkova, RUS (RG)
2nd Rd. - Timea Babos, HUN (US)
2nd Rd. - Ana Bogdan, ROU (US)
2nd Rd. - Mariam Bolkvadze, GEO (US)
2nd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (AO)
2nd Rd. - Varvara Flink, RUS (WI)
2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (AO)
2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad, BRA (WI)
2nd Rd. - Kaja Juvan, SLO (WI)
2nd Rd. - Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (US)
2nd Rd. - Kristina Kucova, SVK (RG)
2nd Rd. - Kurumi Nara, JPN (RG)
2nd Rd. - Peng Shuai, CHN (US)
2nd Rd. - Astra Sharma, AUS (AO)
2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek, POL (AO)
2nd Rd. - Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS (AO)
2nd Rd. - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (WI)
[wild cards]
4th Rd. - Kristie Ahn, USA (US)
3rd Rd. - Kimberly Birrell, AUS (AO)
3rd Rd. - Harriet Dart, GBR (WI)
3rd Rd. - Coco Gauff, USA (US)
2nd Rd. - Lauren Davis, USA (RG)
2nd Rd. - Francesca Di Lorenzo, USA (US)
2nd Rd. - Zoe Hives, AUS (AO)
2nd Rd. - Priscilla Hon, AUS (RG)
2nd Rd. - Caty McNally, USA (US)
2nd Rd. - Monica Niculescu, ROU (WI)
2nd Rd. - Diane Parry, FRA (RG)

**BACKSPIN 2019 "ITF PLAYER" WINNERS**
JAN: Dasha Lopatetska, UKR
AO: Urszula Radwanska, POL
FEB: Caty McNally, USA
MAR: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
1Q: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
APR: Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS
MAY: Marcela Zacarias, MEX
2Q.1: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
JUN: Alison Riske, USA
2Q Grass Court: Alison Riske, USA
JUL: Tamara Korpatsch, GER
AUG: Heather Watson, GBR
[2019 Weekly ITF PLAYER Award Wins]
5 - Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS
3 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - Maja Chwalinska, POL
2 - Clara Tauson, DEN



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), Vekic (4th Rd. - 1 MP vs. Goerges)
IT ("??"): Nominee: Andreescu, Townsend
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Q.Wang, Konta, Andreescu, Vekic, Bencic
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Taylor Townsend/USA (in 4th Rd.) (LL: Flipkens-2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Kristie Ahn/USA (4th Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In 4th Rd.: Ahn(L), Keys(L), Townsend, S.Williams(W)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Taylor Townsend/USA
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominee: S.Williams
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 8. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:59 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

Janelle Monae is amazing—and so are her clothes! She’s my pick for best-dressed (2nd is Taylor Swift) *known* woman. She is just electrifying in every way. Thanks for these videos.

Mon Sep 02, 07:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDVMnQGqIXU

Starbucks introduced Do My Thing to me.

First learned about Janelle Monae through sports, as Pac-10(not a typo) women's basketball used her music as an intro for a year. Shows you how long she has been around, that was 2010-2011.

Dolehide/King get a break, as they will face Kichenok/Ostapenko.

Goerges had the dream setting for her. Stuttgart winner, which is indoors, 19 aces vs Radwanska in the Olympics, also indoors, and had the roof closed. Put up 21 aces, had match point, but lost. That will sting.

Vekic going for uncharted territory. Majoli won the French, Lucic-Baroni reached Wimbledon and Australian SF, but US Open has been the one where Croatia has stopped short. Konjuh made QF in 2016, but none have ever made SF.

Canada somewhat similar in that Bouchard was a Wimbledon finalist, but none have ever reached USO final. Carling Bassett was 14th in 1984 when she reached SF, Andreescu is seeded 15th.

Should they both win their next match, they would square off for a shot to the final.

Men's side has been fun this year. Federer and Nadal not a given.

Stat of the Day- 3- The amount of years since the Williams sisters came on tour that the US has not had a representative in the US Open SF.

With Townsend and Ahn going down, it is up to Serena to keep the streak alive. 1994 was the year Venus debuted on tour, and as she wasn't a threat, the only one to come close was Gigi Fernandez, who lost in the QF.

The other 2 years were 2005 and 2006, which shouldn't surprise anybody as almost all of Serena's streaks have a gap since she missed almost all of 2006.

The early years of the streak were Seles, Capriati and Davenport, later ones Keys and Stephens, but Venus and Serena have been the thread holding US tennis together for the last 25 years.

Tue Sep 03, 09:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

D-
;)

C-
I remember that one. :)

I don't know if this is similar to what they did for the other conference (maybe it was an NCAA-wide women's college basketball campaign that many used?), but here's Monae in a promo for Big-10 women's basketball: here

Tue Sep 03, 01:06:00 PM EDT  

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