Tuesday, January 21, 2020

AO.2 - Muguing with a Capital "W"

To Mugu in Melbourne is, well, maybe not divine... but pretty encouraging in an oddly interesting way.






=DAY 2 NOTES=
...after rain forced the cancellation of so many matches on Day 1, Day 2 saw action begin around the grounds a half hour earlier than normal in an attempt to complete the extra-full schedule planned for Tuesday.

Amongst the first-up matches was #23 Dayana Yastremska's dominating 6-1/6-1 win over qualifier Kaja Juvan to set up the anticipated 2nd Round match-up with Caroline Wozniacki, with the continuation of the Dane's career hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, following in the Day 1 footsteps of #32 Barbora Strycova and #24 Sloane Stephens, #12 Johanna Konta made it a trio of seeds sent out with her 6-4/6-2 loss to Ons Jabeur, who recorded her first career AO MD win in her fourth attempt.



Considering Konta's history with coaches, even after her great comeback season in '19, one has to wonder if coach Dimitri Zavialoff might want to be watching his back in the coming weeks.

...Stephens aside, few players need a few wins more than Caroline Garcia, even after being part of France's Fed Cup winning effort last November (even that tie included a double-bagel loss by the Pastry at the hands of Ash Barty). After dropping a tight 7-5 1st set today to Madison Brengle -- the *tenth* time that's happened to her in her last ten matches, of which she lost seven of the first nine -- it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Garcia soon shown the door. But that didn't happen. Instead, she took control, winning back-to-back 6-2 sets to post her first MD slam win since last Roland Garros. Of course, this win doesn't necessarily mean good times are ahead again for Garcia. While even single match wins have been hard to come by since the middle of last season, she hasn't recorded *multiple* victories in any event (and this is her 15th in the span) since Mallorca last June.



At the very least, Garcia has outlasted Fed Cup teammate and (sometimes) doubles partner Kristina Mladenovic, who lost today to #2 Karolina Pliskova 6-1/7-5.

...of course, some might argue that the "needs to win" label applies to a few Russians, as well. Neither of the women in question, both at one time the top Hordettes on tour (and one a former #1 and Career Slam winner), got even one of those victories today.

The fall of Dasha Kasatkina, the #10 seed in Melbourne a year ago, essentially began at this slam twelve months ago. She'd followed up a 12-21 '19 season with an "okay" 3-2 start to '20 heading into today, but was faced with an horrendous draw (as the world #69) vs. *this* year's #10 AO seed, an in-form *and* healthy Madison Keys. It wasn't pretty. Kasatkina went down in flames 6-3/6-1, dropping her to 2-6 in slam matches since her back-to-back QF runs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2018.



Meanwhile, former AO champ Maria Sharapova, a wild card in this draw who'd actually had a good Round of 16 run at last year's event, continues to find her tennis career existing within the swampy, often inevitable, potential end-game that sees a long and successful career caught in a prolonged perfect storm of a trap in which an aging player (she'll turn 33 in April) needs match play and wins in order to find her form, but who's injury-plagued body is preventing both from becoming a reality. The will is there, but she's seemingly forever running in place, spinning her wheels and simply generating even more of those "r"-related questions she's tried to stave off over the past year.

After dropping the 1st set against #19 Donna Vekic today (the Croat saved a BP in the final game), Sharapova took a 4-1 lead in the 2nd and seemed on her way to testing her physical reserve by forcing a 3rd. But an inconsistent serve and too many unforced errors caught up to her and acted like yet another rope tied to her ankle and pulling her back down to earth. After dropping serve in game #7 as the set got back on serve, Sharapova saw Vekic run off five straight games to record her first win over her, 6-3/6-4.



Sharapova's winless streak now extends back to August, though it only covers a total of four matches, and she hasn't posted a victory at a major since last year's 3rd Rounder vs. Wozniacki in Melbourne (which was followed by a three-set loss to Ash Barty). She's now projected to fall from #145 to somewhere around #370 after this slam.



...while 20-year old #29 seed Elena Rybakina has already risen into the Top 30, won two tour titles and reached back-to-back finals to beginthe 2020 season, the Kazakh came into today still seeking her *first* career slam MD victory. She took care of that in quick order, riding Bernara Pera out of the tournament by a 6-3/6-2 score and moving one round closer to a possible big-time 3rd Round match-up with #1 seed Barty. She's 10-1 on the season, and 31-9 since the start of her maiden title run in Bucharest last July.



...belatedly, Alona Ostapenko made her 2020 debut today with her 1st Round match-up with qualifier Liudmila Samsonova. After ending '19 with a runner-up/champion combination, things were looking up for Latvian Thunder a few months ago. Then her father passed away right before the start of play in Week 1. What her immediate plans were were essentially unknown until she showed up in Melbourne last week. All in all things couldn't have gone much before for the '17 RG champ than they did today, as she took out the Russian by a 6-1/6-4 scoreline, playing an exceedingly economical game that saw her never drop serve and included 27 winners (vs. 22 UE's) and 11 aces (vs. 3 DF). She finished things off with back-to-back love holds and will next face #6-seed Belinda Bencic. Maybe that choice to install Marion Bartoli as coach was a truly inspired one.



Another player who lost her dad in the past year, #21 Amanda Anisimova, didn't fare as well as Ostapenko between the lines on Tuesday. The Bannerette went out at the hands of Kazakh Zarina Diyas in three sets, losing 6-3/4-6/6-3 in an extremely streaky performance that saw her commit over 60 unforced errors on the day.



...meanwhile, could Mugu really be back, or at least have discovered the sort of resilience that has been so wanting in her game in recent seasons?

Coming to Melbourne after having pulled out in the middle of Week 2 with a viral illness, Garbine Muguruza had seemingly little to offer in the 1st set vs. qualifier Shelby Rogers, losing it at love and ultimately having her pulse and temperature checked in the changeover area.



But one thing we've seen in the opening weeks of Muguruza's official coaching relationship with Conchita Martinez has been the Spaniard's ability to put poor starts aside and re-start her game. She came back from a set down to win twice in her first six matches this season, and ultimately did it a third time today.

After taking an early break lead in the 2nd, Muguruza gave back the advantage to Rogers in game #3. But rather than go into the sort of funk she might have in the past, she collected herself and immediately went back to work. She broke right back and won the 2nd set 6-1, then surged to a triple-break lead in the 3rd at 5-0. While it wasn't a particularly pretty match, it got the job done. Muguruza won 0-6/6-1/6-0 to end her three-match losing streak in the majors.



Surely Muguruza needs to get out of the gates better than she has at times so far this season, but it's hard to argue against the pattern of slow starts being overcome and resulting in victory, especially when the recent past has so often seen her flip the order of her inconsistency and end up walking off court after a disappointing defeat.

Nothing is ever simple with Muguruza. So you seek out the encouragement where you can find it, cross your fingers, and hope for more of something resembling the same.

...meanwhile, Laura Siegemund finished off her 2020 sweep of both Coco Gauff and CoCo Vandeweghe. The German defeated the 15-year old in Auckland, and today handled the comeback-minded veteran 6-1/6-4. CiCi Bellis got her first post-wrist surgery slam victory against Tatjana Maria, defeating the German 6-0/6-2 to record her first MD win in a major since the 2017 Roland Garros.

...the weather-related match backlog will ultimately lead to a busy night in Melbourne, as more than a dozen women's matches alone are currently scheduled to begin all over the grounds at the same time or later than the start of the first night session matches on Laver and MCA.

On the show courts, Night 2 will see #4 seed Simona Halep open her '20 AO on MCA with a potentially sticky match-up with Jennifer Brady, who has already recorded a win over #1 Barty (Wk.1 Brisbane) this season, and forced the Romanian to a 3rd set TB last summer at the Rogers Cup. On Laver, former Melbourne champ Angelique Kerber (#17) faces off with Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The German retired from her Week 2 match in Adelaide with a hamstring injury.




...LIKE ON DAY 2 1: Once again, Melbourne is Zhang's "happy place."




...WILLIAMS-LIKE TIME LAPSE NOTE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TENNIS ON DAY 2:

If you're familiar with those involved, this is mind boggling...



No matter how long the WTA puts microphones on coaches during changeovers there will never be a tennis version of Hank Stram...



...DISLIKE ON DAY 2:




...THE BARTY WAY ON DAY 2 1:



Ash was good to go and the figurative roof didn't cave in as a result, but imagine the *outrage* if this had happened before or during a men's match.


...INTERESTING STAT OF THE DAY ON DAY 2:

It's been fifteen years since anyone even cracked the conversation.




...WHEN YOU COME UP WITH THAT GREAT COMEBACK LINE WAY TOO MANY HOURS TOO LATE ON DAY 2:





What happens in this space during each slam is always a guessing game, sometimes right up until the eleventh hour. This year, a single old INXS video I just happened to see Saturday night made into the opening slot on Day 1, with a WTA slant. Now, I'm wondering if this AO's "And finally..." will turn into something of a "Six Degrees of Michael Hutchence" sort of thing.

So from INXS' "New Sensation" we spin off to a CBS reality TV show ("Rock Star: INXS") that took place in 2005, some eight years after Hutchence's 1997 death, as the surviving band members took part in an unorthodox exercise to find a new lead singer. Though she didn't ultimately win (a guy named JD Fortune did, largely because of the viability of his original song, "Pretty Vegas"), I always thought the star of the whole thing was a singer named Jordis Unga. Her highlight was her multiple emotional versions of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World," which she'd dedicated to a recently deceased friend.




Fortune performed with the band, with a few breaks and "disagreements/miscommunications," through 2011 (I guess it wasn't as perfectly melded an entity as Queen and Adam Lambert has been, so maybe they *should* have gone a different way with Unga), until he was finally replaced in 2012. The band stopped performing altogether soon after. Unga ended up appearing on the second season of "The Voice" seven years later (I didn't see it at the time, being an "American Idol" person). She didn't win that, either, and later had a legal issue with a Kickstarter campaign centering around her debut album in '14 that ultimately saw her publicly apologize to supporters two years later.


Who knows where this spinning top will land tomorrow... ah, but I do have something of an idea. Here's a hint, with two of Bowie's many, many versions of "The Man Who Sold the World." One an acoustic performance very similar to Unga's, and another that is just, well, so very Bowie. Also, one of the many covers of the song, from Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged" show in 1993.



















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*FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS AT 2020 AO*
Paula Badosa, ESP
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Ann Li, USA
Greet Minnen, BEL
Elena Rybakina, KAZ
--
NOTE: at time of this posting


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TOP QUALIFIER: #31 Ann Li/USA
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #5 Anna Kalinskaya/RUS def. Wang Xiyu/CHN 4-6/7-6(2)/6-2 (down 6-4/5-3, MP at 5-4)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Paula Badosa/ESP (def. Larsson/SWE)
FIRST SEED OUT: #32 Barbora Strycova/CZE (1st Rd. - lost to Cirstea/ROU)
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: xx
NATION OF POOR SOULS: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 1st Rd. wins: Hibino, Krejcikova, A.Li, McNally, Minnen
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 1st Rd. wins: -
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: 1st Rd. wins: Barty, Tomljanovic
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (??): xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #24 Stephens (4th 1st Rd. exit in 9 slams since won '17 U.S.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominee: Sh.Zhang (1st Rd. - Stephens served for match in 2nd)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Sh.Zhang
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 2. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:15 AM 

6 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Brady had her chances. Halep got that first set, and it was one way traffic after.

Due to the dearth of local player in the Middle East, Sharapova could get WC to Doha or Dubai. Her problem is that after Miami, she may be competing with Venus for them.

Due to odd scheduling, the winner of Goerges/Martic should be in the 3rd rd before Mertens/Kovinic start their 1st rd match.

Mr. Tiebreak is at it again. Isner wins 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6.

Today's stat is inspired by the most wins under 16 tweet. I did not check the whole thing, but my first thought was how is Jaeger not on the list. Turns out Jaeger had 15, Austin 12.

Stat of the Day- 5- WTA MD wins for Catherine McNally.

A future up and comer in her own right, the 18 yr old is the x factor in terms of Gauff's development.

In a non sports world, child prodigies and phenoms may be book smart, but their struggles come in relationships, where they may be the only child with a group of adults.

In the tennis world, you assume a team is made up of adults, then add Gauff being represented by Federer, and you have meetings with mostly adults.

Slams are easier, with juniors there, but on the regular tour, it becomes you and family versus the world. Having McNally around normalizes her situation. Think Hingis being coached by mom, but having Kournikova around. Now see Gauff and dad with McNally.

Plus McNally should be able to get into most of the same tournaments, after all, Gauff only has 13 WTA MD wins.

Tue Jan 21, 10:31:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Jordis Unga is good! None of that fake "emotional" singing that we now hear everywere.

The Lulu version may have the most interesting backstory. Bowie thought it was perfect for her, but she didn't think it was right for her voice. He insisted, and then he produced the track. I've always like it a lot.

Tue Jan 21, 10:48:00 AM EST  
Blogger Nicolas said...

Is McNally a Trump's supporter? I kinda don't like her because of that. But like her game tough.

Tue Jan 21, 11:12:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Well, Halep has at least checked off a few things from the "To-Do" list that usually accompanies a deep AO run:

✔ 1) play with grit to show she still wants it

✔ 2) win a tough early-round match vs. a Bannerette (Brady had 3 SP at 6-5 in the 1st set, but Simona won in straights)

✔ 3) fall down and scare everyone (late in the 1st she tripped in the backcourt and partially broke her fall w/ her wrist, but was okay)

A few notes (w/ 8 1st Round matches to finish)
...the Kazakhs are going get one of the early-round awards after a 3-0 1st Round, with AUS/CHN/ESP/USA likely competing for the other. Not sure about the Nation of Poor Souls, as there was no overwhelmingly bad 1st Round collective result so far. ITA was 1-3, and SVK/SWE both 0-2. None are surprises. RUS is 3-7 w/ two matches (Pavlyuchenkova & Kudermetova) still to play and could take it.

That one could carry over to the 2nd Round.


C-
It'll be interesting to see what Sharapova does. I wonder if she'd be above going the 125 route to try to get matches and lift her ranking a bit? There are a ton of them in the spring. Six between March and June. There's one next week in Newport Beach, which Andreescu *won* last year.

Ah, I'll have to add Jaeger and Austin to that list for safekeeping. Though I wonder if it'll get much play after this slam, since Gauff turns 16 in March.

Yeah, "McCoco" does seem to be a good thing for both Gauff and McNally, and not just in various doubles draws.

Reading those child/adult examples, the one name that screamed in my head was "Dokic!" Thankfully, she found a way through the other side of the that worst case scenario, even if it took 20 years to do it.


D-
Really disappointing that Unga's recording career (at least) hasn't been as successful as one might have thought it'd be. If she'd won that INXS show, it might have made a big difference as far as exposure. She might have been a bit young for that spot, though, so who knows? She's 37 now, so was only about 21/22 when she did that show.

On the "The Voice" clips on YouTube, she looked totally different from "Rock Star." Almost *too* strait-laced. Someone commented on one of the vids that if she had *the (cooler) look* she'd had on "RS" she might have lasted a lot longer on "The Voice." Maybe.

Just listened to the Lulu version. Different, but I like that one, too (not really a "country music" version, per se, but it's close enough that someone could do it that way now and have a hit, too).

Hmmm, maybe k.d. lang... that would be interesting. ;)

I guess he did it with most of his songs, but I like that Bowie did *so* many takes/versions just on his own of that single song.

N-
Hmmm, not sure. I know Allie Kiick was complaining the other day on social media about not being able to have conservative views (though that's not necessarily Trump-like views, at least not in what has always been the tradition sense of things up until three years ago) without being attacked by people.

I think Vandeweghe -- who's somewhat her doppelgänger in a physical sense -- was a supporter, but has been pretty quiet about that of late.

I *try* not to find out those things for that very reason you mentioned, unless a player/athlete just put themselves in a position where their comments sort of make it sort of seem like they're asking to be yelled at by the masses on social media (i.e. what Bouchard and Mladenovic were doing a few seasons ago w/ their personal attacks on fellow players).

Tue Jan 21, 02:13:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

I just looked it up and biographer David Buckley described Lulu’s version as “a sleazy, almost Berlin cabaret style.” I remember it was a big hit in the UK. I didn’t realize that Bowie plays sax on the record (as well as providing guitar and vocals, of course). And you know I’m down with k.d. lang’s singing anything.

Tue Jan 21, 03:27:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yeah, I think that's an accurate take on it, too. I guess it something in *her* voice that made it feel like a country version would work, as well. Now I want someone to do it. ;)

Tue Jan 21, 03:54:00 PM EST  

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