Monday, October 21, 2019

Wk.42- An Echo of Thunder

In the waning hours of the 2019 WTA regular season, we turned once more in the direction of the distant horizon and did what we have so often over the course of the past year or more. For much of that time we have been forced to reluctantly, and regrettably, accept the reality that the silence was deafening and that no change in that situation was inevitable.

Yet, we still earnestly went about the routine, nearly every week in and week out, trying to avoid simply going through the motions as we tried with all our objective might to hold onto the scraps of hope connected with what we desired to be once more.

In this forty-second week of the season, we did so again. We cupped our ears and listened for at least a faint sound of the familiar. A week earlier, we *thought* we'd heard it, but were too stung from previous false alarms to fully commit to the notion.

Then, lo and behold, there it was again. Rising in strength and new-found vitality with each passing day as it wafted across the landscape from above. "Could it be?" we wondered. "Yes," we assured ourselves, with a surprisingly (still) resolute affection resonating from a strong -- albeit somewhat still tentatively recharged -- power source from deep within.

At long last, we could no longer deny it. It *was* the distinct and glorious sound of... Latvian Thunder.



Ah, such sweet music to the ears. And the heart.


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*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Premier/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Belinda Bencic/SUI def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS 3-6/6-1/6-1
D: Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara (JPN/JPN) def. Kirsten Flipkens/Bethanie Mattek-Sands (BEL/USA) 6-2/6-1
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG (Int'l/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Julia Goerges/GER 6-4/6-1
D: Coco Gauff/Caty McNally (USA/USA) def. Kaitlyn Christian/Alexa Guarachi (USA/CHI) 6-2/6-2


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...two seasons ago, in the week in which a soon-to-no-longer-be-teenage Ostapenko celebrated her 20th birthday with a Roland Garros championship run, the thunderous excitement that her game skills made possible kicked off what has become the new PDQ era of the tour's existence (before Naomi and Bianca, there was Alona stepping into the slam winner's circle). Aside from a few momentous moments since then -- the Miami final run and Wimbledon semi in '18 stand out the most -- the Latvian's results have been dogged by injury (wrist), bothersome service games and (as always) sometimes-roaring inconsistency. Occasionally, all three or some combination of two swooped in to feed the buzz kill.

During this year's Asian swing, though, some light has finally shined through. First came the hardly-perfect upset of Karolina Pliskova in Beijing, which was nonetheless Ostapenko's first Top 5 win in a year and a half. Next was a somewhat more tidy trip to the final in Linz, the 22-year old's first last round appearance since Miami '18.

Former Wimbledon champ Marion Bartoli was brought aboard this month as a coaching presence, and the hope was that maybe the eccentric Pastry would prove to be something of a kindred spirit for the equally unique Latvian. Well, so far, so good. The combination of "La Trufflette" and Latvian Thunder has provided some much needed good vibes.



Luxembourg provided Ostapenko the opportunity for a season-ending proving ground to confirm (maybe even to herself) that Linz wasn't a one-off, and she took advantage of it with quite possibly her most sustained bit of contained tennis since her Paris win. After opening with a tight two-set win over Caty McNally, Ostapenko came back from a set down to oust #1-seed Elise Mertens (winning the 2nd/3rd at 2 & 2), handled Antonia Lottner (1 & 1) and again took control (3 & 2 sets to close) after dropping the 1st vs. Anna Blinkova in the semis. In the final, a week after falling in Linz to 2019's youngest champ (Coco Gauff), Ostapenko faced off with the season's oldest in Julia Goerges (she won Auckland all the way back in Week 1, at age 30), winning 4 & 1 to claim her first tour singles title since Seoul in the final weeks of '17. Psst... and she had ZERO DF's. (!!!!)



Ostapenko jumps from #63 to #46 on Monday, likely securing her fourth straight Top 50 season, at least, but more importantly providing herself a launching point from which to begin her offseason and 2020 campaign.

Hopefully, this mini-run will turn out to be the start of a whole new beginning.
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RISERS: Belinda Bencic/SUI and Karolina Muchova/CZE
...Bencic arrived in Moscow with the task of qualifying for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career, knowing that a title run was the one thing that could assure her of reaching her goal. Well, bravo to her. After having come into the season without having won a title since 2015 (when she won two), the 22-year old U.S. Open semifinalist left Russia with a companion piece to the Dubai crown she won in February.

After recovering from a set deficit to defeat Polona Hercog, the Swiss ran off wins over Kirsten Flipkens, Kristina Mladenovic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (in three sets after dropping the 1st) in her third '19 final, and tenth of her career. Her WTAF appearance (and whatever happens in Shenzhen) just adds another entry into the journal about what is already Bencic's career year, a stretch which has already seen her notch nine Top 10 victories, including two #1 wins and another over a #2. She enters this week having matched the career high rank (#7) she set in early '16, with the chance to climb a bit more at the end of the round robin event to come.

Also at the Kremlin Cup, Muchova produced another notable result in *her* breakout campaign, during which she's won her maiden title (Seoul), got her first Top 10 win (Pliskova at Wimbledon) and reached her first slam QF (Sw19). This past week, wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Donna Vekic and Ekaterina Alexandrova produced a third 2019 semifinal berth, and while she lost there (to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) Muchova will still set another new career high of #26, a hugely impressive jump from her '18 finish at #145 (but one which unfortunately for her *looks* relatively puny in comparison to the antics of a certain Canadian teenager this season).


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SURPRISES: Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN/JPN
...the duo followed up their win in Tianjin with an even bigger crown in the Moscow Premier level event. Other than a three-set QF match vs. Jurak/Rosolska (they took a 10-5 match TB), the Japanese pair won out in straight sets, defeating the likes of differently-constituted doubles teams Dabrowski/Siniakova and, in the final, Flipkens/Mattek-Sands.

This was Aoyama/Shibahara's third tour-level final appearance since August.
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VETERANS: Julia Goerges/GER and Kirsten Flipkens/BEL
...Goerges began her season with a final (def. Bianca Andreescu to defend her Auckland crown), reached just one SF (a Birmingham final loss to Ash Barty) in her next 19 events, then this weekend wrapped up her '19 campaign by reaching the final in another title defense attempt in Luxembourg. The 30-year old German, the oldest singles champ on tour this season (a stat that would have been hard to predict back in Week 1), didn't achieve perfect symmetry with a season-closing repeat title, as she lost in straights to Alona Ostapenko, but her usual highly-competitive indoor game (7 of her 17 finals have come in indoor events, as well as four of her seven titles) allows her to go off into her offseason on a high note. Three-set wins over Misaki Doi, Sorana Cirstea and Monica Puig preceded a more conventional two-set victory against Elena Rybakina, enough to secure a Top 30 ranking that will serve her well in 2020, even if it is a step back from her consecutive Top 15 finishes in 2017-18.



In Moscow, 33-year old Flipkens reached her fifth singles QF of the season, and fourth doubles final. After making her way through qualifying, the Waffle posted victories over Natalia Vikhlyantseva and Dayana Yastremska before going out to eventual champ Belinda Bencic. Flipkens' last SF appearance came on the grass at Rosmalen in the summer of '18. She's been more successful on that front in doubles. In fact, in her only teaming with Bethanie Mattek-Sands the duo reached the Eastbourne final earlier this year. "Flipper & the Bee's" second pairing produced a second final after a win over the team of doubles #1 Kristina Mladenovic & Timea Babos. A loss to Aoyama/Shibahara closed out Flipkens' week.



In singles, Flipkens will move up 21 spots to #99 with this week's result. If she can maintain that position before the official season-ending rankings come down after the WTA Finals (she's only four points from dropping to #101), 2019 would be her eighth straight Top 100 season, and tenth in eleven years. Either way, it'll likely be her worse finish since 2011 (#194).
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COMEBACKS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS and Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...so, here we go 'round the bend with Pavlyuchenkova all over again. After the balane of a season in which she'd failed to reach a tour-level SF (w/ 3 QF finishes) the Russian has reached two finals in recent weeks, first in Osaka (a loss to Naomi O.) and then again this week in Moscow, her third such appearance in her home event (a win in '14, then a loss a year later). Pavlyuchenkova recorded three three-set victories (Maria Sakkari, Varvara Gracheva and Karolina Muchova) through four rounds (w/ a straight setter over Veronika Kudermetova mixed in) before facing off with Belinda Bencic in a match where three sets were *not* her friend.



The reult will get Pavlyuchenkova back into the Top 30 this week, meaning she's pretty well assured of managing to have her final ranking for her title-less '19 campaign be an improvement upon her year-end standing from 2018 (#42), a season in which she *did* win a title (Strasbourg). Of course, this sort of odd occurrence is so oh-so-very-Pavlyuchenkovian that it doesn't even register on her personal scale of head-shaking career note. It just just elicits a slight shrug and a semi-wry smile.



Meanwhile, it was a weird week for Mladenovic. Shortly before she'll get the chance to end '19 on a winning note in the Fed Cup final Down Under, the Pastry had one of her best and most resilient extended performances of this season or any other for quite a while. In Moscow, she won three consecutive three-setters over Yulia Putintseva, Anastasija Sevastova and Kiki Bertens, officially ending the Dutch woman's WTAF hopes, to reach her second '19 semifinal (w/ Zhengzhou, both since the U.S. Open). She lost there to her friend Belinda B., but her earlier run marked the first time since the '17 Roland Garros that Mladenovic won a trio of three-setters in a single event, and the first time she did so in back-to-back-to-back outings since the Q/MD of Quebec City in 2012. She'll move back into the Top 40 on Monday, but this weekend announced the end of her coaching relationship with Sascha Bajin as her singles season has come to an end. It wasn't her decision.



So, once again, Big Sascha is on the market. Well, that is, unless his next destination is *already* mapped out. It might not be a new one, either. After all, he *did* seem to have a pretty good thing going earlier this year before he was suddenly shown the door. Could that very same door be about to open again? Though there *have* been rumors about him joining forces with a certain #1-ranked German in need of a boost. If *that* happens, well, we've got our first intriguing storyline for 2020.
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FRESH FACE: Anna Blinkova/RUS
...in Luxembourg, Blinkova shook off her back-to-back 1st Round loss streak (Beijing/Linz) since reaching the Guangzhou semis (a career WTA first) on the heels of a 125 Series win in New Haven in September. The 21-year old stormed through the Luxembourg draw, defeating Coco Gauff 4 & love, Tatjana Maria love & 1 and advancing past Margarita Gasparyan (who retired early in the 2nd set) to reach her second WTA semi, where she lost to eventual champ Alona Ostapenko. She'll break into the Top 60 for the first time on Monday.


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DOWN: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...this week, even Dasha's Russian wall fell.

What has been a truly horrendous season for Kasatkina came to a merciful end in Moscow, a city where she's always found a safe haven throughout her career. The Hordette's 1 & 4 1st Round loss to Dayana Yastremska as the tournament's defending champ leaves her 0-2 on home soil in 2019 (she was also one-and-out in Saint Petersburg), after having gone a combined 24-8 in Russia in WTA/Fed Cup matches since 2015.

Kasatkina wasn't only the winner of the 2018 Kremlin Cup, but she reached the final in '17, as well, *and* won the doubles in '15 and reached the WD final in '16. Her 30-odd spot fall in the rankings on Monday will leave the 2018 world #10 at #70, giving one of the biggest non-injury related one-season ranking drops in recent tour history.

As bad as things have been for Kasatkina this season, at least she's found the *one* silver lining in it all...


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ITF PLAYERS: Peng Shuai/CHN and Arantxa Rus/NED
...in Suzhou, China a battle of countrywomen on home soil resulted in veteran Peng, 33, claiming her fourth career $100K crown (she's also won two WTA and two 125 Series titles) with a three-set win in the final over Zhu Lin, who'd been going for her biggest career title just two months after having posted her first slam MD win at Flushing Meadows.

Meanwhile, Rus added to her circuit leading '19 title total by picking up #8 in the $25K in Seville, Spain. Rus' eighth straight final win (in nine finals this season) concluded with a 4 & 4 victory over Romanian Patricia Maria Tig, whose post-pregnancy comeback has included two ITF titles, a 125 win and a tour-level final in Bucharest this season.


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JUNIOR STAR: Diane Parry/FRA
...the 17-year old Pastry claimed the Grade A Osaka Mayor's Cup title, losing no sets en route to the championship, notching a 6-2/6-4 win in the final over Filipino Alexandra Eala (a Grade A champ in Cape Town, RSA last month).



Before reaching the Orange Bowl semis late in 2018 (losing to Coco Gauff), Parry had defeated Gauff (QF) and season junior #1 Clara Burel (F) in the Grade A Yucatan Cup last November. This season, the girls' #8 defeated Hurricane Tyra Black in a Grade 1 final in February, and a was a Roehampton and Wimbledon girls semifinalist during the summer
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title number ??? #McCoco ?? #business??????

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DOUBLES: Coco Gauff/Caty McNally, USA/USA
...in Luxembourg, Gauff won her second title in two weeks (after losing her 1st Round match to Anna Blinkova), following up her Linz singles crown with her second doubles win of the season (Washington) alongside McNally. Aged 15 and 17, respectively, "McCoco" won a 10-5 match TB in the 1st Round over Doi/Ninomiya, then never looked back in a trio of straight sets victories over #4-seeded Blinkova/Kato, #1 Kr.Pliskova/Voracova and #2 Christian/Guarachi (6-2/6-2) in the final.


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WHEELCHAIR: Momoko Ohtani/JPN
...Ohtani swept the titles at the Peace Cup event in Hiroshima for the second year in a row, winning her third straight singles crown at the event and improving her career tournament record in singles to 15-1 (and 9-2 in doubles). For Ohtano, the world WC #11 heading into the week, it was her first singles title since July, an effort that had come after a pair of final losses to Jordanne Whiley in the spring.

The #1 singles seed, Ohtani defeated #2-seeded countrywoman Manami Tanaka (#17) in the final, while her defense of her doubles win alongside Shiori Funamizu (#2 seeds) came at the expense of the top-seeded Tanaka & Saka Takamuro in the championship match.
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1. Luxembourg 1st Rd. - Denisa Allertova def. Mandy Minella
...6-7(7)/7-6(5)/7-6(6). Minella, playing on an injured leg, had a MP and seemingly had converted it, only to see Allertova ask for a replay on the call of "out" for her shot, win the challenge, and then go on to take the match. The loss dropped Minella to 0-11 in MD matches in her home tour-level Luxembourg event.


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2. Luxembourg Final - Alona Ostapenko def. Julia Goerges
...6-4/6-1. Goerges' lone thirtysomething title in Week 1 marks 2019 as the first season since 2010 (Osaka: Tamarine Tanasugarn, 33) in which there weren't multiple singles champions aged 30-plus. For the decade (2010-19), the numbers have gone like this: 1-2-13-16-14-15-8-8-7-1.


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3. Moscow Final - Belinda Bencic def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...3-6/6-1/6-1. While the nation's depth has deepened significantly this year, 2019 marks the first season since 2001 that no Hordettes won a tour singles title.


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4. Moscow 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-1/6-4. Memories of better times...


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5. $25K Florence, SC USA Final - Claire Liu def. Peyton Stearns
...6-1/6-2. The 19-year old Bannerette, with her first win since 2017, improves her career mark in ITF singles finals to 4-0.
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6. Moscow QF - Kristina Mladenovic def. Kiki Bertens
...6-4/2-6/6-1. Simply a warm-up for the CoCo vs. Coco match that awaits us in the future?


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7. Luxembourg 1st Rd. - Margarita Gasparyan def. Jil Teichmann
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-3. After leading 6-2/5-2, 15/love, Gasparyan lost sixteen straight points to fall behind 6-5 in the 2nd set. After dropping a TB, the Russian pulled away in the 3rd as she finished with 29 winners while handing Teichmann lost her sixth straight MD defeat (all on hard courts) since winning the Palermo title on clay in July.


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8. Luxembourg QF - Anna Blinkova def. Margarita Gasparyan
...6-3/1-0 ret. Of course, as is often the case with Gasparyan, what began well didn't end as such. She exited the Kremlin Cup via retirement, her sixth match abandoned in such a fashion this season.


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1. Luxembourg 2nd Rd. - Monica Puig def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA
...7-6(5)/3-6/7-6(6). Pliskova must get a migraine headache (or if not, hey, *there'* an idea for next time) each time she sees Puig in her path. Remember, the Czech hit a record 31 aces vs. the Puerto Rican in the 2nd Round of the 2016 Australian Open only to *still* lose the match, missing out on 5 MP in the process. This time, she saved 16 of 16 BP chances held by Puig, while converting one of her own (1-of-9), and hit *28* aces, but once again found a way to lose. This time she didn't even ever *reach* MP.


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2. Moscow 2nd Rd. - VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/1-6/7-5. Hoping for the chance to defend her '18 WTAF crown, Svitolina managed to slip into the Shenzhen field despite not winning a match in Moscow. In all, the eight women who'll gather together in the season-ending event's new locale will have made 27 final appearances and won 18 titles in 2019. For her part, Svitolina is the lone player to have contributed a grand total of zero to those totals.

Of some note here, if Pavlyuchenkova hadn't rallied to defeat Varvara Gracheva in three sets in their 2nd Round match, Kudermetova would have faced off with a *different* countrywoman in the QF, but the one who'd defeated her sister Polina in the qualifying rounds. Well, maybe next time.
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3. $15K Antalya TUR Final - MAGDALENA PANTUCKOVA def. Gabriella Taylor
...6-3/6-1. The Czech picks up her fifth career challenger title, and her first since winning one of the many events held in Antalya last year (in this case, one in May '18).


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Hmmm... could she be-...? Naaaah. Right?








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*2019 WTA FINALS FIELD - season record in finals*
4-1 = Karolina Pliskova, CZE
3-0 = Naomi Osaka, JPN
3-1 = Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3-2 = Ash Barty, AUS
2-1 = Belinda Bencic, SUI
2-2 = Petra Kvitova, CZE
1-2 = Simona Halep, ROU
0-0 = Elina Svitolina, UKR

*WTA SECOND SEASON-ENDING EVENT FINALS*
[Tournament of Champions; Bali 2009-11, Sofia 2012-14]
2009 Aravane Rezai def. Marion Bartoli
2010 Ana Ivanovic def. Alisa Kleybanova
2011 Ana Ivanovic def. Anabel Medina-Garrigues
2012 Nadia Petrova def. Caroline Wozniacki
2013 Simona Halep def. Samantha Stosur
2014 Andrea Petkovic def. Flavia Pennetta
[Elite Trophy; Zhuhai 2015-present]
2015 Venus Williams def. Karolina Pliskova
2016 Petra Kvitova def. Elina Svitolina
2017 Julia Goerges def. CoCo Vandeweghe
2018 Ash Barty def. Wang Qiang (LL)
2019 ?
[doubles champions]
2015 Liang Chen/Wang Yafan, CHN/CHN
2016 Ipek Soylu/Xu Yifan, TUR/CHN
2017 Duan Yingying/Han Xinyu, CHN/CHN
2018 Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok, UKR/UKR
2019 ?

*ELITE TROPHY FIELD*
Madison Keys, USA
Sofia Kenin, USA
Petra Martic, CRO
Elise Mertens, BEL
Alison Riske, USA
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Donna Vekic, CRO
Zheng Saisai, CHN (WC)

*2019 WTA INDOOR TITLE WINNERS*
Saint Petersburg (HC) - Kiki Bertens, NED
Budapest (HC) - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Stuttgart (RC) - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Linz (HC) - Coco Gauff, USA
Moscow (HC) - Belinda Bencic, SUI
Luxembourg (HC) - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Elite Trophy (HC) -
WTA Finals (HC) -

*2019 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#2 - Ash Barty, AUS (Birmingham)
#2 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Zhengzhou)
#3 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (Stuttgart)
#3 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Eastbourne)
#4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (Australian Open)
#4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (Osaka)
#4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (Beijing)
#7 - Kiki Bertens, NED (Madrid)
#7 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Rome)
#7 - Simona Halep, ROU (Wimbledon)
#8 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Brisbane)
#8 - Kiki Bertens, NED (Saint Petersburg)
#8 - Ash Barty, AUS (Roland Garros)
#9 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (Sydney)
#10 - BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (Moscow)
#11 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (Jurmala)
#12 - Ash Barty, AUS (Miami)
#13 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Shenzhen)
#14 - Julia Goerges, GER (Auckland)
#14 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Wuhan)
#15 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (U.S. Open)
#18 - Madison Keys, USA (Charleston)
#18 - Madison Keys, USA (Cincinnati)
#19 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (Monterrey)
#20 - Sofia Kenin, USA (Guangzhou)
#21 - Elise Mertens, BEL (Doha)
#27 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Toronto)
#28 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (Nottingham)
#30 - Sofia Kenin, USA (Mallorca)
#39 - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (Nuremberg)
#40 - Petra Martic, CRO (Istanbul)
#42 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Strasbourg)
#45 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Dubai)
#45 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (Seoul)
#47 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
#50 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL (Budapest)
#51 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (Rabat)
#55 - Zheng Saisai, CHN (San Jose)
#56 - Sofia Kenin, USA (Hobart)
#59 - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (Tianjin)
#60 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Indian Wells)
#61 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL (Tashkent)
#61 - Alison Riske, USA (Rosmalen)
#63 - ALONA OSTAPENKO, LAT (LUXEMBOURG)
#65 - Wang Yafan, CHN (Acapulco)
#76 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Bogota)
#78 - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (Nanchang)
#79 - Jessica Pegula, USA (Washington)
#80 - Magda Linette, POL (Bronx)
#82 - Jil Teichmann, SUI (Palermo)
#89 - Polona Hercog, SLO (Lugano)
#98 - Fiona Ferro, FRA (Lausanne)
#106 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (Bucharest)
#110 - Coco Gauff, USA (Linz)
#146 - Jil Teichmann, SUI (Prague)
#146 - Nao Hibino, JPN (Hiroshima)

**2019 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS**
TRARALGON AUS G1: Clara Tauson/DEN
COFFEE BOWL BRA G1: Abigail Forbes/USA
RPM JUNIOR OPEN CZE G1: Kristyna Lavickova/CZE
AUSTRALIAN OPEN JUNIORS: Clara Tauson/DEN
COPA BARRANQUILLA COL G1: Savannah Broadus/USA
MUNDIAL JUVENIL DE TENIS ECU G1: Abigail Forbes/USA
ASUNCION BOWL PAR G1: Charlotte Chavatipon/USA
BANANA BOWL BRA G1: Diane Parry/FRA
PORTO ALEGRE BRA G1: Ane Mintegi Del Olmo/ESP
YELTSIN CUP RUS G1: Alina Charaeva/RUS
NONTHABURI, THA G1: Bai Zhuoxuan/CHN
CASABLANCA MAR G1: Selena Janicijevic/FRA
SARAWAK MINISTER'S CUP MAL G1: Joanna Garland/TPE
VILLENA JUAN CARLOS FERRERO ESP G1: Alexandra Vecic/GER
INT'L SPRING CHAMPIONSHIPS USA G1: Hurricane Tyra Black/USA
PERIN MEMORIAL CRO G1: Daria Frayman/RUS
BEAULIEU-SUR-MER FRA G1: Elsa Jacquemot/FRA
SANTA CROCE ITA G1: Diana Shnaider/RUS
MILAN ITA GA: Alexa Noel/USA
CHARLEROI-MARCINELLE BEL G1: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
ROLAND GARROS JUNIORS: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN
OFFENBACH GER G1: Dasha Vidmanova/CZE
BERLIN GERMAN JUNIORS G1: Polina Kudermetova/RUS
NOTTINGHAM ENG G1: Sada Nahimana/BDI
ROEHAMPTON ENG G1: Daria Snigur/UKR
WIMBLEDON JUNIORS: Daria Snigur/UKR
NANJING JPN G1: Wong Hong Yi Cody/HKG
COLLEGE PARK USA G1: Kamilla Bartone/LAT
REPENTIGNY CAN G1: Elsa Jacquemot/FRA
US OPEN JUNIORS: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
CAPETOWN RSA GA: Alexandra Eala/PHI
OSAKA JPN GA: Diane Parry/FRA

*2019 $100K CHAMPIONS*
Midland, USA (hci) - Caty McNally/USA (#411)
Charleston USA (gco) - Taylor Townsend/USA (#108)
Bonita Springs, USA (gco) - Lauren Davis/USA (#132)
Trnava, SVK (rco) - Bernarda Pera/USA (#115)
Surbiton, ENG (g) - Alison Riske/USA (#62)
Manchester, ENG (g) - Magda Linette/POL (#96)
Ilkley, ENG (g) - Monica Niculescu/ROU (#142)
Contrexeville, FRA (rc) - Katarina Zavatska/UKR (#196)
Vancouver, CAN (hc) - Heather Watson/GBR (#110)
Suzhou, CHN (hc) - Peng Shuai/CHN (#94)








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Wait for it...





All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:21 AM 

9 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

The postseason is here. So more thoughts that usual, especially since some won't be talked about for 2 months.

Goerges reached a final in the last week of the season for the 3rd year in a row. The difference is that she won Moscow in 2017 to reach Zhuhai, while she lost Luxembourg this year and narrowly misses. She turned town alternate spot, so Sevastova and Pavlyuchenkova are.

Curious if Blinkova will have anything done this offseason, as she walks like an 80 yr old between points.

Gracheva does not play like Hingis. However, her court awareness and point construction belies her youth. Finishing one win away from locking in AO main draw, at 104 still has a shot, depending on 125K results over the next month.

Hercog is way too passive against good players. Match should be on her racket, but is just content to get the ball back.

Gavrilova will need a WC for Australia. I don't mean for MD, but Q! Down to 236, her last 5 wins were as follows- LL-WC-direct entry-LL-WC. By ranking- 269-256-105-83-191.

Hong Kong is on 2020 schedule. Albany event isn't the Bronx event, as that is listed as TBD.

Building on that career altering US Open run, Taylor Townsend has played 0 matches. Continues her run of poor scheduling.

Even though Schoofs is already 31, she is improving to the point that finishing next year at 60 in singles isn't a stretch.

Stat of the Week- 5- The amount of common events for Zhuhai participants.

Normally when I do this, it is normally 8-9 events. But with Muchova's ranking being too low to enter Indian Wells, and Sakkari missing Beijing, there are only 5. All 4 slams plus Miami.

Zhuhai-Points from common events:
1075-Martic
1020-Keys
995 -Mertens
815 -Vekic
735- Muchova
555- Riske
545- Yastremska
520- Bertens
520- Kenin
495- Sakkari
290- Sabalenka
50 - Zheng

Let it be noted that the players ranked 10th and 11th last year reached the final. Also note WC Zheng. As there were only 5 events, it means that she lost in the 1st rd of all 5.

Mon Oct 21, 06:09:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

12 On the Up Side-Zhuhai Edition.

As a reminder, I will do both singles and doubles for Shenzhen, but not for Zhuhai, as doubles doesn't offer points?????

Player-Titles-Top 30 Record:

1.Bertens- 2(18-10). Default pick as I had Riske before the groups came out. Gets 2 slumping players in Vekic and Yastremska, so most expected to reach the weekend. Player to avoid- Mertens 1-3.
2.Sabalenka- 2(8-7). Like Riske in China, but better, as she defeated her in 2 finals this year. Player to avoid- Bertens 1-4.
3.Riske- 1(11-9). In China, having a career year, but she needs some breaks as she has a negative H2H vs all 3 projected SF. Player to avoid- Keys 1-5.
4.Keys- 2(6-6). Obviously has the talent to win, but durability questions abound. Player to avoid- Bertens 0-2.
5.Mertens- 1(7-15). Most losses in this field, but in the group most likely to split 1-1, with Sabalenka and Sakkari. Player to avoid- Sakkari 3-3.
6.Muchova- 1(5-7). Upstart has an even group with Kenin and Riske. Only played 14 tournaments this year, same as Keys. Player to avoid- Riske 0-1.
7.Kenin- 3(17-13). Only reason she is this low is that she seemed out of gas near the end of the season. Arguably the player in this field most likely to be in Shenzhen next year. Player to avoid- Sabalenka 0-2.
8.Martic- 1(7-11). Seems unfair to have her this low, but under .500 record and split with her coach lowers expectations. Player to avoid- Mertens 0-2.
9.Sakkari- 1(8-11). Playing her way back into game shape after injury, isn't expected to have her A game. Player to avoid- Mertens 3-3.
10.Zheng -1(4-8). As usual, WC has worst record vs Top 30 in field. However has better H2H than expected vs most. Red flag is that 3 of her 4 Top 30 wins were in San Jose, the event she won. One hit wonder. Player to avoid- Riske 3-4.
11.Yastremska- 2(8-11). Knee wrap is concerning, plus the end of a long season. May win a match, as she has the only player struggling worse in her section. Player to avoid- Muchova 0-3.
12.Vekic - 0(10-9). Only player in the field without a title, though she reached 2 finals. Another one out of gas, she went 2-6 down the stretch. Player to avoid- Sabalenka 1-3.

Mon Oct 21, 06:41:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Needless to day, it wasn't a good year to be a Dasha. Kasatkina, Gavrilova or Lopatetska. :/

You'd have thought Townsend would at least play try to play challengers in the U.S. if she wasn't going to do the Asian swing.

Mon Oct 21, 10:01:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Alona perked up considerably in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open. Until she reached the finally, she was deadly, then she fell apart again. But I felt then that something was brewing. The partnership with Bartoli is supposedly temporary, but you never know.

Love Do You Mugu?!

Mon Oct 21, 07:45:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ah, yes -- maybe those shots to Lindstedt's noggin really *did* give her some good luck! :D

All in all, doubles seemed to provide her with some room to breathe all season long, and often "saved" a week by offering a port in the storm after she'd gone off the rails in singles.

Tue Oct 22, 04:09:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Early post, as usual, since Shenzhen starts on Sunday.

In Zhuhai, Sabalenka and Mertens face off for the last spot, as Bertens, Muchova and Zheng round out the other finalists.

That reminds me that doubles will be done when that draw comes out, with Mertens/Sabalenka the top seed.

As I normally do points from common events, this year there are only 5, due to Kvitova missing the French and Andreescu missing Wimbledon. So the 5 events are Beijing, US Open, Miami, Indian Wells, and Australian Open.

2019 Points from common events:

3445- Andreescu
3425- Osaka
2440- Barty
1895- Pliskova
1825- Svitolina
1810- Kvitova
1430- Bencic
885 - Halep

Barty loses her French Open title but still is third, while Halep losing Wimbledon points leaves her last.

Fri Oct 25, 09:17:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

8 On the Up Side-Shenzhen Edition.

Listed are titles, then record vs Top 10.

1.Bencic- 2(9-6). Not the obvious choice, but in a format in which you can reach the finals with a loss(expecting 2-1), the player with the most Top 10 wins is a pick. The most interesting match might be the one against Barty. She played the other 6 finalists this season, but her 0-0 H2H vs Barty is the only career 0-0 that doesn't involve Andreescu. Probably overplayed with 22 events, plus Fed Cup and Hopman Cup, so she needs to win her first match.Player to avoid- Kvitova 1-4.
2.Osaka - 3(5-2). Expected to win her group, but may possibly play Bencic twice. Favorite on form, but format hurts her. Player to avoid- Halep 1-4.
3.Andreescu- 3(8-1). Favorite in her group, but her whole group spins on the long awaited matchup with Halep. Halep has a much better chance with this as her first match than her 3rd. As a rookie in the field, gets lucky to be in a group in which 2 players make it out regardless. Player to avoid- Halep 0-0.
4.Kvitova- 2(3-3). Yes, 3 players from the Red Group in the Top 4. Like SEC football, one group is stronger than the other. Still practicing with arm sleeve, was playing well enough to win matches. Not sure if she can hold up for 4 or 5. Player to avoid- Halep 1-3.
5.Barty- 3(8-5). Trying to lead the tour in wins. Started the week in first, but Bertens now 1 up. Also 23 aces away from 400, only trailing Pliskova and Bertens. Just in a rough group, but also has Fed Cup to think about. Player to avoid- Svitolina 0-5.
6.Pliskova- 4(3-2). How can I put the tour leader in wins this low? Easy. She has more titles than Top 10 wins, and hasn't had one since Eastbourne, when she picked up two. That doesn't even help her here, as those two- Bertens and Kerber- did not make the field. 26 aces away from 500, joining a club that is already a Party of One, which Pliskova is already in. Player to avoid- Halep 3-7.
7.Svitolina- 0(1-5). Can I pick a player to pick up 5 Top 10 wins in a week, when they only have 1 all year? No! Though somebody has to win, watching Svitolina/Pliskova trying to serve out a set or match may be a comedy, or a tragedy. Should be favored against Halep. Player to avoid- Kvitova 2-7.
8.Halep- 1(4-4). I did not put her here because of the iconic dress. At least I think it is a dress. She's here because her body is breaking down, and hasn't had a Top 10 win since Wimbledon. Player most likely to pull out if they start 0-2, unless Andreescu is the third match. Ignore her numbers as she is .500 or better vs everybody in this field. Player to avoid- Svitolina 4-4.

Fri Oct 25, 09:49:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

8 On the Up Side-Doubles Edition.

A return to the past as doubles goes back to the round robin format. Listed will be titles, this year's record, and record vs the field.

1.Hsieh/Strycova- 4 titles, 28-9(8-2). The #2 seed, even losing their last 3 matches, they come in as the favorite because of being in a softer group. Also, the #1 seeded team is still in Zhuhai.
2.Mertens/Sabalenka- 3 titles, 28-8(8-3). If they were rested, they would be the favorite. Winners of both slams and premiers, they should reach the weekend before fatigue catches up with them.
3.Babos/Mladenovic- 2 titles, 25-8(3-3). The best team by pedigree, they were much better on clay this season. Both of their titles were on the surface, but get a break with the weakest team in the field in their group.
4.Chan/Chan- 4 titles, 41-16(5-7). The conflicting paper tiger. Has the most wins in the field, but the most losses against it. Also in the group with the weakest link.
5.Krejcikova/Siniakova- 2 titles, 24-9(4-4). Has some momentum from winning Linz, but that was Krejcikova's first tournament since Cincinnati. Decent bet to make the weekend.
6.Dabrowski/Xu- 1 title, 33-19(2-6). Most losses in the field, but makes it every year by amount of tournaments, not by quality wins.
7.Stosur/Zhang- 1 title, 19-12(3-4). Lived off the AO all season. Has not beaten a team in this field since Miami.
8.Gronefeld/Schuurs- 0 titles, 31-15(4-7). Gronefeld is retiring after this, a season in which she did manage to pick up a title with Rosolska. Went 0-5 in finals with Schuurs. Best case scenario is 1-2.

Fri Oct 25, 02:25:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Impressive number from Andreescu in common events, especially considering that it might have been even much high had she played full clay & grass seasons.

Good note on Mertens and Sabalenka being late arrivals at the WTAF, the initial inadvertent "victims" in the first year with the two season-ending events taking place in the order they *should* have been scheduled all along.

Sat Oct 26, 01:59:00 AM EDT  

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