Sunday, October 27, 2019

Wk.43- Asian Boom

Aryna Sabalenka has been searching for her mojo all season long. Finally, in the closing weeks of the 2019 schedule -- boom! -- the Belarusian discovered it during the Asian swing. Again.




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*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*
ELITE TROPHY; ZHUHAI, CHINA (Hard Court Indoor)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Kiki Bertens/NED 6-4/6-2
D: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Andreja Klepac (UKR/SLO) def. Duan Yingying/Yang Zhaoxuan (CHN/CHN) 6-3/6-3

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...Sabalenka is still knocking on the door (she'll be at #11 on Monday, the same place she finished the '18 season), but she's seemingly getting closer to busting it down. A year ago, the Belarusian appeared poised for a huge star-making campaign in '19. While she wasn't exactly at her *best*, she still managed to open her season with a title run in Shenzhen in Week 1, but then battled herself for much of the year. She never did make her big move in a major, failing to get out of the 3rd Round at any slam event, once again failed to qualify for the WTA Finals and saw her Top 10 win total fall from eight to three. Additionally, she had public/private "issues" with coach Dmitry Tursunov and her frustrations were often readily apparent on gameday. But, as usual, she found her way once more in Asia.

A year ago, Sabalenka won her biggest career title in Wuhan, seemingly setting the stage for a potentially grand run in '19. Come this fall, while she'd unexpectedly produced huge results in doubles with Elise Mertens (a "Sunshine Double" and U.S. Open win) she was once again in need of a significant boost in singles heading into the offseason. She got it, defending her Wuhan crown (and getting her first career #1 win over Ash Barty) and then this week racing to the Elite Trophy title in Zhuhai by sweeping through her round robin (Maria Sakkari, Mertens), semifinal (Karolina Muchova) and final (Kiki Bertens, notching her second Top 10 win over the Dutch woman this season) competition to claim her third title this year and fifth of her career.

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All three of Sabalenka's '19 crowns came in China, as have four of her five titles. Five of her nine tour-level finals have come in the nation, just as six of her nine challenger (ITF+125) finals have been in events based in Asia (with another coming in Australia).

Thus, Sabalenka ends another season with noticeable momentum, having won two of her final three events this year, and will enter 2020 once again looking to *finish* in the Top 10 (she spent most of the season there),finally make her mark in a major, and make due on all those expectations and high-flying possibilities that were being floated in her presence twelve months ago.

Will she get the formula right the next time around? We'll get our first inklings of an answer in a few months.
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RISER: Kiki Bertens/NED
...while she didn't complete her quest of qualifying for the WTA Finals for a second straight year (SF in '18), Bertens (mostly) made the best of her second Elite Trophy (w/ '16) appearance. Wins in round robin play over Donna Vekic and Dayana Yastremska won her group, and and SF win over Zheng Saisai put her into her fifth final of the season (a career high). A straight sets loss to Sabalenka prevented Bertens from matching her three-title campaign from a year ago, as she's dropped three consecutive finals (on three surfaces) since winning her biggest career title on the clay in Madrid, but she's set up for a second straight Top 10 finish. She enters the week at #7, just ahead of Shenzhen participant Belinda Bencic.


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SURPRISE: Zheng Saisai/CHN
...Zheng somewhat surprisingly received the wild card berth into the Elite Trophy field over China's highest-ranked player (and sorta-finalist from a year ago) Wang Qiang, and she took as much advantage of it as she could, posting a straight sets round robin win over Madison Keys that proved to be the difference in her advancing into the SF over Keys and Petra Martic (all tied at 1-1 and were within a game of each other in games won). She lost to Kiki Bertens in three, but added another good result to a career year that had already seen Zheng win her first WTA singles title, as well as a 125 Series event, reach the Roland Garros doubles final and set several career high ranking marks. She'll do it again on Monday, climbing to #35.


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COMEBACK: Katerina Stewart/USA
...the 22-year old picked up her eleventh and biggest ITF challenger title in the $80K in Macon, Georgia with a 6-7(2)/6-3/6-2 win in the final over Shelby Rogers. In the event via a wild card, Stewart posted previous victories over Hannah Chang, Caroline Dolehide, Irina Falconi and Danielle Lao. With her third title since she briefly stepped away from tennis after enrolling at the West Point Preparatory School in July '16, Stewart has now won six consecutive singles finals and is 11-3 in her pro career. She'll make a huge 192-spot leap in the rankings to #279 this week, though she's still a good deal behind the career high of #158 she set in July '15.


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FRESH FACE: Karolina Muchova/CZE
...round robin wins in Zhuhai over Sofia Kenin and Alison Riske allowed the 23-year old Czech to reach her fourth semifinal of the season, finishing off her year with two straight and three in four events (w/ a title in Seoul) since the U.S. Open. Her loss to Arnya Sabalenka prevented a year-ending win, but she'll end 2019 on the cusp of her Top 20 breakthrough (#21) with even more good things looking to be her plate for '20.


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DOWN: Madison Keys/USA
...around a year ago, it was the eleventh hour injury withdrawal (knee) of Elite Trophy semifinalist Keys that allowed the eliminated Wang Qiang to face off with Garbine Muguruza in a live final four match (rather than the Spaniard getting a deserved walkover into the final). Wang then knocked off Muguruza 2 & love (one might say it was because of the what's-going-to-happen? chaos that led her to be unprepared... but, you know, it's Mugu, so who knows?) to reach the final before Ash Barty finally put an end to the nonsense by taking the title.

This year, Keys was back in Zhuhai, and once again in the same round robin group as the lone Chinese player in the field (wild card Zheng Saisai). But this time she lost to Zheng in straights in their face-off, leading to *Saisai* earning advancement to the semis after all three players posted identical 1-1 records (and nearly identical games won stats, as Zheng was 19-18, just better than 19-19 Petra Martic and 18-19 Keys).

While Keys again failed to play a semifinal match in three appearances (w/ '15) in this event, she still closes out a good season that, as usual, gets somewhat lost in the fog of her extended absences and general invisibility over the course of the year. Well, except for when she suddenly emerges from that haze and posts a great result or two. This year it was her pair of title runs in Charleston and Cincinnati that kept her campaign (17-15 otherwise) afloat. She'll finish inside the Top 20 for a fifth straight season, and will even raise her final ranking slightly from her #17 finish in 2018.
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ITF PLAYERS: Danka Kovinic/MNE
...in Székesfehérvár, Hungary it was 24-year old Kovinic (#108) claiming her third career $100K challenger crown and returning to the Top 100 courtesy of a 6-4/3-6/6-3 win in the final over Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. The title matches the Montenegrin's biggest ever, as she's so far gone winless in WTA (0-2 in 2015-16) and 125 Series (0-1 this year) finals during her career.



In Poitiers, France the $80K challenger crown was won by Serbian Stojanovic via a 6-2/7-6(2) win in the final over Russia's Liudmila Samsonova. A recent tour-level semifinalist (Nanchang) and quarterfinalist (Guangzhou) and qualifier (Linz) following a $60K title run in Changsha (CHN), Stojanovic's win is the biggest of her career. She'll rise to a new career high of #83 this week. She's gone 18-4 on all levels since falling in the final round of qualifying at the U.S. Open to Taylor Townsend (who'd go on to upset Simona Halep and reach the Round of 16) in three sets.


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JUNIOR STAR: Diane Parry/FRA
...the 17-year old became the second straight Pastry to win the Junior Masters title in Chengdu, China. Following in the footsteps of '18 champ Clara Burel, Parry completed an undefeated week that saw her go 3-0 in round robin play (def. Zheng Qinwen, Natsumi Kawaguchi and Hurricane Tyra Black) and then take the take the crown with a 1 & 3 win in the final over Wimbledon girls winner Daria Snigur in what was a battle for the #1 junior ranking. Parry had assumed the top spot a week ago following her Grade A title run in Osaka, and is now on an eleven-match winning streak.

The ITF's collection of photos from the event can be found here.


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DOUBLES: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Andreja Klepac, UKR/SLO
...partnering for the first time, Kichenok & Klepac collected the Elite Trophy title in Zhuhai, with Kichenok defending the crown she was a year ago alongside her sister Nadiia. The #1 seeds, they won a pair of match tie-breaks in round robin play, then handled #2 seeds Duan Yingying (the '17 winner) & Yang Zhaoxuan 6-3/6-3 in the final. It's Kichenok's fourth career tour WD title, and Klepac's eighth.


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WHEELCHAIR/VETERAN: Michaela Spaanstra/NED
...at the Sion Indoor event in Switzerland, the 41-year old from the Netherlands picked up her first singles title since winning the same event a year ago. The #2 seed, Spaanstra won back-to-back-to-back three-setters over Charlotte Famin (QF), Manami Tanaka (SF) and Katharina Kruger (F) en route to the title. She'd also defeated Kruger in last year's final (the German is now 0-5 in '19 singles finals, and has lost six straight dating back to last season -- she last won in August '18 in Belgium with, naturally, a victory over Spaanstra in Ath). In doubles, Spaanstra joined forces with Tanaka to win there, as well.


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1. Elite Trophy Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Kiki Bertens
...6-4/6-2. A year ago, Ash Barty used her season-closing Elite Trophy title run as a springboard into a slam-winning, #1-ranked season in 2019. I'm just sayin'.


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2. Elite Trophy rr - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elise Mertens
...6-4/3-6/7-5. With the action playing out just as hoped, this round robin ending match-up between doubles partners -- who'll reunite this week in Shenzhen -- decided the semifinalist to emerge from their three-player group, and set the stage for Sabalenka's title-winning weekend.


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3. $25K Istanbul TUR Final - Kamilla Rakhimova def. Pemra Ozgen
...6-3/5-7/6-3. The 18-year old Hordette grabs her fifth '19 circuit crown, lifting Rakhimova to a career-best #239.


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4. $60K Bendigo AUS Final - Lizette Cabrera def. Maddison Inglis
...6-2/6-3. The Aussies battled Down Under, with Cabrera winning out to pick up her third '19 crown and move into nearly a dead heat with Inglis (who won the WD w/ Kaylah McPhee) in the rankings. Inglis will open the week at #138, with Cabrera at #140.

Speaking of Aussies...


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5. WTAF rr - Ash Barty def. Belinda Bencic
...5-7/6-1/6-2. Speaking of an Aussie...


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6. $60 Saguenay CAN Final - Indy De Vroome def. Robin Anderson
...3-6/6-4/7-5. It's always nice to see the fabulously-named 23-year old Dutch woman back in the winner's circle, especially when it happens for the third time this season after her three-year battle vs. Lyme disease, and when she staves off MP to do it.
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7. WTA Future Stars under-14s Final - Clervie Ngounoue def. Kayla Cross
...6-2/7-6(2). In a U.S. vs. Canada affair, 13-year old Washington D.C. native Ngounoue wins the under-14 crown in the lead-up festivities in Shenzhen.


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8. WTA Future Stars under-16s Final - Reese Brantmeier def. Annabelle Xu
...6-3/6-4. In another U.S./Canada tilt, Wisconsin-born Brantmeier follows up her USTA 16s National Championship run with another in Shenzhen.


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1. Elite Trophy Final - LYUDMYLA KICHENOK/Andreja Klepac def. Duan Yingying/Yang Zhaoxuan
...6-3/6-3. All six of the event's round robin doubles matches went to a deciding match tie-break. But the final didn't.


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2. $15K Austin TX Final - BIANCA TURATI def. ANNA TURATI 3-6/6-3/6-2
$15K Austin TX Final - ANNA TURATI/BIANCA TURATI def. Melany Krywoj/Fernanda Labrana 6-3/1-6 [10-4]
...the Italian Turati twins met in a final for the first time, with Bianca (who was the NCAA's #1-ranked singles player for a stretch during the most recent college season) picking up career challenger title #7, improving her head-to-head mark vs. Anna to 4-2.



Their doubles win was the first together as pros for the University of Texas products.
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3. $80K Poitiers FRA Final - Amandine Hesse/Harmony Tan def. TAYISIYA MORDERGER/YANA MORDERGER
...6-4/6-2. The German sisters, attempting to win their eighth title as a pair, fall to the Pastries. Hesse also defeated Yana in the 1st Round in singles, while Tayisiya was taken out by another Pastry, Margot Yerolymos, in qualifying.


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HM- WTA Finals rr - NAOMI OSAKA def. Petra Kvitova
...7-6(1)/4-6/6-4. In the first of several intriguing match-ups this week in Shenzhen, Osaka defeated fellow '19 AO finalist Kvitova in three sets on Sunday. Not much has changed between the two since Osaka's 7-6(2)/5-7/6-4 win in Melbourne, I guess.


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It'll all be great, as long as no one says anything about Hong Kong, of course.


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Beautiful day at @harvardhbs today ????

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Melbourne ???????????????????

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I ordered an elephant ear and received a palmier. ?? ??

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*WTA SECOND SEASON-ENDING EVENT CHAMPIONS*
[Tournament of Champions; Bali 2009-11, Sofia 2012-14]
2009 Aravane Rezai, FRA
2010 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2011 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2012 Nadia Petrova, RUS
2013 Simona Halep, ROU
2014 Andrea Petkovic, GER
[Elite Trophy; Zhuhai 2015-present]
2015 Venus Williams, USA
2016 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2017 Julia Goerges, GER
2018 Ash Barty, AUS
2019 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
[doubles]
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 Lyudmula Kichenok/Andreja Klepac, UKR/SLO

*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) - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
WTA Finals (HC) -

*2019 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE
3 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3 - Ash Barty, AUS
3 - Sofia Kenin, USA
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR

*JUNIOR MASTERS FINALS - Chengdu, CHN*
2015 Xu Shilin/CHN def. Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK
2016 Anna Blinkova/RUS def. Katie Swan/GBR
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR def. Kaja Juvan/SLO
2018 Clara Burel/FRA def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL
2019 Diane Parry/FRA def. Daria Snigur/UKR



=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF TITLES=
8 - Martina Navratilova
5 - Serena Williams*
5 - Steffi Graf
4 - Chris Evert
3 - Kim Clijsters*
3 - Monica Seles
2 - Gabriela Sabatini
2 - Martina Hingis
2 - Justine Henin
2 - Evonne Goolagong
-
*-active (KC in '20)

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF FINALS=
14 - Martina Navratilova (8-6)
8 - Chris Evert (4-4)
7 - Serena Williams (5-2)*
6 - Steffi Graf (5-1)
4 - Lindsay Davenport (1-3)
4 - Monica Seles (3-1)
4 - Martina Hingis (2-2)
4 - Gabriela Sabatini (2-2)
3 - Kim Clijsters (3-0)*
3 - Evonne Goolagong (2-1)
3 - Amelie Mauresmo (1-2)
3 - Maria Sharapova (1-2)*
3 - Venus Williams (1-2)*
2 - Justine Henin (2-0)
2 - Tracy Austin (1-1)
2 - Petra Kvitova (1-1)*
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-1)*
2 - Mary Pierce (0-2)
-
*-active (KC in '20)

=REACHED FINAL IN WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF DEBUT=
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1981 Andrea Jaeger, USA
1994 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1996 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (W)
2018 Sloane Stephens, USA

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD TITLES=
11 - Martina Navratilova
10 - Pam Shriver
4 - Lisa Raymond
3 - Cara Black
3 - Lindsay Davenport
3 - Martina Hingis
3 - Liebel Huber
3 - Natasha Zvereva
2 - Timea Babos*
2 - Margaret Court
2 - Gigi Fernandez
2 - Anna Kournikova
2 - Sania Mirza*
2 - Jana Novotna
2 - Nadia Petrova
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2 - Samantha Stosur*
-
*-active

=WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WS FINALS=
1972 Chris Evert d. Kerry Reid
1973 Chris Evert d.Nancy Richey
1974 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1975 Chris Evert d. Martina Navratilova
1976 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1977 Chris Evert d. Sue Barker
1978 Martina Navratilova d. Evonne Goolagong
1979 Martina Navratilova d. Tracy Austin
1980 Tracy Austin d. Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova d. Andrea Jaeger
1982 Sylvia Hanika d. Martina Navratilova
1983 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1984 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1985 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1986a Martina Navratilova d. Hana Mandlikova
1986b Martina Navratilova d. Steffi Graf
1987 Steffi Graf d. Gabriela Sabatini
1988 Gabriela Sabatini d. Pam Shriver
1989 Steffi Graf d. Martina Navratilova
1990 Monica Seles d. Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1992 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1993 Steffi Graf d. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1994 Gabriela Sabatini d. Lindsay Davenport
1995 Steffi Graf d. Anke Huber
1996 Steffi Graf d. Martina Hingis
1997 Jana Novotna d. Mary Pierce
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2000 Martina Hingis d. Monica Seles
2001 Serena Williams w/o Lindsay Davenport
2002 Kim Clijsters d. Serena Williams
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams
2005 Amelie Mauresmo d. Mary Pierce
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Justine Henin d. Maria Sharapova
2008 Venus Williams d. Vera Zvonareva
2009 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2010 Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Petra Kvitova d. Victoria Azarenka
2012 Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Serena Williams d. Li Na
2014 Serena Williams d. Simona Halelp
2015 Aga Radwanska d. Petra Kvitova
2016 Dominika Cibulkova d. Angelique Kerber
2017 Caroline Wozniacki d. Venus Williams
2018 Elina Svitolina d. Sloane Stephens
2019 ..

=WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD CHAMPIONS=
1973 Rosie Casals / Margaret Court
1974 Billie Jean King / Rosie Casals
1979 Francoise Durr / Betty Stove
1980 Billie Jean King / Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1982 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1983 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1984 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1985 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1986a Hana Mandlikova / Wendy Turnbull
1986b Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1987 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1988 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1989 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1990 Kathy Jordan / Liz Smylie
1991 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1992 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Helena Sukova
1993 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1994 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1995 Jana Novotna / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1996 Lindsay Davenport / Mary Joe Fernandez
1997 Lindsay Davenport / Jana Novotna
1998 Lindsay Davenport / Natasha Zvereva
1999 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2000 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2001 Lisa Raymond / Rennae Stubbs
2002 Elena Dementieva / Janette Husarova
2003 Virginia Ruano-Pascual / Paola Suarez
2004 Nadia Petrova / Meghann Shaughnessy
2005 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2006 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2007 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2008 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2009 Nuria Llagostera-Vives / Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez
2010 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2011 Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond
2012 Maria Kirilenko / Nadia Petrova
2013 Hsieh Su-Wei / Peng Shuai
2014 Cara Black / Sania Mirza
2015 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2016 Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina
2017 Timea Babos / Andrea Hlavackova
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic
2019 ..

*WTA SEASON-ENDING #1's - w/ finish the following season*
1975 Chris Evert, USA (1)
1976 Chris Evert, USA (1)
1977 Chris Evert, USA (2)
1978 Martina Navratilova, TCH (1)
1979 Martina Navratilova, TCH (3)
1980 Chris Evert-Lloyd, USA (1)
1981 Chris Evert-Lloyd, USA (2)
1982 Martina Navratilova, USA (1)
1983 Martina Navratilova, USA (1)
1984 Martina Navratilova, USA (1)
1985 Martina Navratilova, USA (1)
1986 Martina Navratilova, USA (2)
1987 Steffi Graf, FRG (1)
1988 Steffi Graf, FRG (1)
1989 Steffi Graf, FRG (1)
1990 Steffi Graf, GER (2)
1991 Monica Seles, YUG (1)
1992 Monica Seles, YUG (8)
1993 Steffi Graf, GER (1)
1994 Steffi Graf, GER (1)
1995 (co) Steffi Graf, GER (1) and Monica Seles, USA (2)
1996 Steffi Graf, GER (28 = injury)
1997 Martina Hingis, SUI (2)
1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA (2)
1999 Martina Hingis, SUI (1)
2000 Martina Hingis, SUI (4)
2001 Lindsay Davenport, USA (12 = injury)
2002 Serena Williams, USA (3)
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL (8)
2004 Lindsay Davenport, USA (1)
2005 Lindsay Davenport, USA (25 = injury)
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL (1)
2007 Justine Henin, BEL (retired)
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB (8)
2009 Serena Williams, USA (4)
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (1)
2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (10)
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (2)
2013 Serena Williams, USA (1)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (1)
2015 Serena Williams, USA (2)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (21)
2017 Simona Halep, ROU (1)
2018 Simona Halep, ROU (TBD)
2019 Ash Barty, AUS

*WTA FINALS - FUTURE STARS CHAMPIONS*
[16s]
2014 Karman Thandi, IND
2015 Pranjala Yadlapalli, IND
2016 Violet Apisah, PNG
2017 Megan Smith, AUS
2018 Ayu Ishibashi, JPN
2019 Reese Brantmeier, USA
[14s]
2014 Thasaporn Naklo, THA
2015 Chu Jiayu, CHN
2016 Shiori Ito, JPN
2017 Priska Nugroho, INA
2018 Yang Ya-Yi, TPE
2019 Clervie Ngounoue, USA



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Nothing has ever really replaced "Calvin & Hobbes" in the pop culture landscape...




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"Players of the Decade" update this week.

All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:05 PM 

11 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Vekic ends the season going 2-8.

Zhuhai is a good event. A way to get publicity for the next group.

Outside of Sabalenka, Muchova probably had the best week.

Stat of the Week- 12- The amount of women who won either a Slam, Premier or Zhuhai.

With YEC still to be determined, 9 of 12 have won more than one. Not a shock, which is why we say that if you win one that season, you probably will win another. Sabalenka continued the trend.

2019- Slams, premier, and Zhuhai titles:
4-Pliskova
3-Osaka
3-Andreescu
3-Barty
2-Kvitova
2-Bertens
2-Bencic
2-Keys
2-Sabalenka
1-Mertens
1-Halep
1-Zheng

Of the players with "only" one, Halep is the clear outlier. Also with Svitolina the only YEC participant without one, she is a huge underdog, even more than last year.

Quiz Time!

Aryna Sabalenka won in China again, with her 4 titles being the most for a Russian woman. Who is second? Multiple answers accepted.

A.Maria Kirilenko
B.Maria Sharapova
C.Nadia Petrova
D.Elena Dementieva
E.Svetlana Kuznetsova






Answer!

Hmmm, the most obvious answer is correct, but with a surprisingly low number. The most prolific winner in Russian history, (B)Sharapova has only won 2 titles in China, her last being Tianjin over Sabalenka.

(A)Kirilenko is wrong, though she liked the reigon, as 3 of her 6 career titles were China, South Korea, and Thailand.

(C)Petrova isn't even close, but has an she liked, as 7 of her 24 finals were either in Germany or Austria.

That leaves 2 other choices. And even though (E)Kuznetsova actually reached 5 finals in the Middle East(Dubai/Qatar) going 0-5, she also reached 4 in China, going 2-2, so she is correct.

Olympic winner (D)Dementieva is correct, as that was her second and last title in China.

Sun Oct 27, 10:41:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Zhuhai - especially when both finalists should actually be finalists.

(All right, now that the 12-month calendar has run out, that's officially my last shot at the 2018 shenanigans that occurred with Q.Wang.) ;)

The only players currently in the Top 25 who haven't reached a final in '19 are Svitolina and Stephens (#25). Oddly enough, they were the finalists at last year's WTA Finals. Interesting?

Quiz: Well, Belarusian in this case, but I know where you were going. I was tempted to go with Sharapova, but I felt like she was more associated with Japan. And Kirilenko with Korea. So I took a shot with Dementieva.

I didn't even think to go with more than one pick, so at least I got that one right. :)

Although those *are* surprisingly low numbers. Of course, having the Kremlin Cup right in the middle of the Asian swing does sort of potentially skew the possibilities a bit what with the different scheduling of so many of the Russians because of that (taking the European indoor events route), I suppose.

Mon Oct 28, 12:30:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

"Halep vs. Andreescu I: You Don't Mess with the Zohan"
...Three Sets. 2:34. MP Saved. It *was* what we *thought* it would be.

Mon Oct 28, 11:30:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Epic fail by me. What can I say? I see Tursunov, and think Russian.

Well, the theory on the Halep/Andreescu group spinning on that match holds true. Now we go from Andreescu being the favorite, to wondering if she will even play her next match. She shouldn't.

Mon Oct 28, 11:34:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Hoergren said...

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn - shoulder injury. Bianca Andreescu told - after the match - that her back hurts - how long is she gonna last. The finals seems to fall apart - what's wrong this year?

Tue Oct 29, 03:30:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

The funny thing is that after yesterday's matches, I was going to do an NFL style injury update like this:

Probable-Halep,Bencic
Questionable-Andreescu

Osaka wasn't even considered.

Ace count-Pliskova now at 481 with 2-4 matches left, Barty(3rd) at 391 with 1-3 matches left.

Bencic/Bertens is a virtual playoff match. Due to the fact that WTA math means 1-1(50%) pct is worse than 1-2(33%), Bertens has to win. Bencic would need help if she loses, as the only way she can make it is if Barty/Kvitova/Bencic all finish 1-2, then win tiebreaker.

2019 Bertens has now played 8 weeks in a row, bringing back memories of 2016 Ostapenko, who managed 7 in an Olympic year stretch.

Tue Oct 29, 12:13:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Speaking of Bertens, she's the first to play singles matches in both the Elite Trophy and WTA Finals in the same season.

Of course, with the flip-flop of the events on the schedule, it makes it a much more likely scenario. With all th e injuries, next-up alternate Kenin could still end up doing the same by the end of the week.

In the "old" schedule order -- with the WTA Championships and Tournament of Champions events -- in 2011, Bartoli played one RR match in the big event, then reached the QF in the ToC a week later.

Oh, and add Lisa Raymond (at 46) to the list of comeback players. To some degree, at least. Currently coaching Allie Kiick, she's joining her in doubles at a $60K in Asuncion this this week (they won their 1st Round match Tuesday). Raymond wants her to play more doubles, so I guess she's just taking things into her own hands. She said she intends to play with Kiick some in 2020, as well.

Here's the story.

Wed Oct 30, 01:23:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Andreescu's team failed her. Anybody that saw the last 4 games of the Halep match knew she wasn't right.

Svitolina still with a chance to go back to back.

OT-World Series MVP candidates heading into Game 7-Strasburg, Rendon, Altuve, Springer. Game probably hinges on two future league MVP's in Bregman and Soto. Both have been hot and cold, but can carry a team.

Should be fun.

Wed Oct 30, 12:41:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

The way she's playing, Svitolina might even be the favorite at this point.

Wed Oct 30, 09:47:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Down to the Final Four. Barty/Pliskova and Bencic/Svitolina.

Sicking with Bencic.

Two thoughts on others:
Bertens officially splits from Sluiter and keeps Tamaela. Still thinks she is one of the Wimbledon favorites in 2020, but not at Roland Garros. The fact that she had her YEC fate in her hands, and then became ill is eerily reminiscent of her French Open run, where she became ill, when she knew the draw had opened up.

Halep/Cahill. Doesn't bother me much, because Simona needs this. Notice that after Cahill's talk, she stopped physically beating herself up. I do think this is a relationship that will last after tennis. With that said, Dobre would have been canned if he said the same.

Fri Nov 01, 02:36:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I like Svitoiina to defend her title. Now that she's added that serve, she's pretty lethal, and she's rocking these courts.

Fri Nov 01, 08:34:00 PM EDT  

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