Friday, January 24, 2020

AO.5 - Bye and Bye

On an upset-laden afternoon, Serena Williams' Australian Open came to a crashing end, right along with Caroline Wozniacki's career.




=DAY 5 NOTES=
...on a day with a schedule filled with big names and a marquee nighttime match-up, top-seeded Ash Barty opened play on Friday at Laver Arena against the hard-hitting Kazakh who has burst into the '20 season by reaching back-to-back finals and climbing into the Top 30.

20-year old Elena Rybakina, having made an Andreesculean since finishing high school and beginning to work with a full-time coach last season, came to Melbourne having never won a MD match a major, so her 3rd Round appearance and scheduling of match vs. the world #1 in her home nation on the main stadium court of slam was already evidence that her trip Down Under had added a *third* successful week to begin her 2020 season. She opened strong against Barty, breaking at love. After dropping serve herself game later, the Moscow-born youngster quickly got the break back in game #3. With the ability out-hit Barty from the baseline on her side, and serve big, the question was whether or not she could withstand the better variety and ability to make in-match adjustments that Barty would immediately begin to employ once she got a feel for Rybakina's game. When Rybakina lost serve again, making it four straight breaks to open the match, it wasn't a particularly good sign that the Aussie was going to ever put herself in jeopardy of being upset on this day.

From there, Barty's return game proved to be the key factor in the game, and Rybakina serve and hard, flat groundstrokes became less and less effective. Barty finished off the 1st set 6-3, then went up and early break in the 2nd. Serving at 5-2, she put away the win. Ultimately, Barty served more aces (5-2) than Rybakina, who also tossed in four DF while serving at just 53%. Barty's 28 winners led the stat sheet, as well. The Aussie has won 20 of her last 23 slam matches, reaching six straight Round of 16's at majors. The slam wins lead the tour during the stretch, and her 4th Round run is the longest current streak on tour.



...two days ago, the stage was seemingly set for Caroline Wozniacki's career to come to an end on MCA, but she just wasn't ready. The former AO champ rallied from double-break down in two sets to win in straights over #23 seed Dayana Yastremska. She likely wasn't ready for the curtain to come down on her (so far) life's work today on Melbourne Arena against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, either. That's just what happened, though. But she didn't go down without one final fight.



In a sense, the Dane's best chance to survive to play at least one more match came in the 1st set of today's contest. Wozniacki jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Jabeur, only to see the Tunisian climb back and knot the set at 3-3. After having turned away a BP chance at 4-4, Wozniacki *did* drop serve two games later. With her forehand shots firing, Jabeur completed her comeback by serving out the set at 7-5. It would prove to be a costly lost lead for Wozniacki.

Meanwhile, carrying an entire sporting culture on her shoulders, Jabeur was already (for a third time) playing deeper in a slam draw than any other Arab woman ever has, and now the 25-year was just one set away from becoming the first to reach a Round of 16.



But Wozniacki wouldn't go easily. She pulled away late in a tight 2nd set, breaking for a 5-3 lead and serving out the set a game later. She fell behind 2-0 in the 3rd, but avoided a likely hopeless deficit by holding from 15/40 down in game #3, cutting Jabeur's lead to 3-1, then breaking serve a game later. Saving three more BP, the Dane held for 3-3, and had a BP opportunity to take a final set lead in game #7. But the tenacious Tunisian wouldn't let go of *her* dream, either, holding for 4-3 and keeping a step (game) ahead of Wozniacki throughout what remained of the set. Finally, down 6-5, Wozniacki had to hold serve to keep her career alive.

Knotted at 15/15, Jabeur raced to a Wozniacki drop shot and flipped a high ball that the Dane couldn't get back with her leaping backhand volley attempt. On the next point, Wozniacki stopped play in the middle of a point to challenge a Jabeur shot in front of her on the left sideline. When the replay showed that the ball had clipped the line, the Dane was suddenly double MP (and CP, as in career point) down. Early in the next point, Wozniacki's wayward forehand closed the book on the 7-5/3-6/7-5 match, and (barring a change of heart a year or two down the line) the career of the 29-year old future Hall of Famer.



While Jabeur's accomplishment was personally satisfying, as well as historic, even she knew that the moment inevitably belonged to Wozniacki, who sat teary-eyed in the changeover area while her final opponent was interviewed on court.



Taking her turn in on the other side of a post-match interview for the final time, more tears came for the notoriously unsentimental-on-court Dane. But it's to be expected, for goodbyes *can* be difficult... even when they come at a time, as she made a point to note, that she is *actually* very happy.



While Chanda Rubin might have accidentally referenced Wozniacki's AO title run "in 2008" (Wozniacki politely corrected her), she *was* right in wondering how she could have won so many matches over the years and yet still be one the most well-like players on tour. In the end, that might turn out to be her longest lasting legacy as her life moves on from tennis and she experiences victories that don't involve line calls and service returns. Her '18 championship in this event secured the *tennis* legacy, but her personal one had been wrapped up long before.

After all, the list of players whose exit can bring Serena Williams to tears is likely a short one. But even after what turned out to be an even longer and more frustrating day for the seven-time AO champ, it was answering questions about her friend's retirement that caused her emotions to threaten to get the best of her.



Score that as one final "victory" for Caro.

Here's the link to "Abyssinia, Caro," a special Wozniacki edition of Backspin, which includes a career retrospective and a re-post of the recap of her 2018 Australian Open victory.

...while Wozniacki's career was ending a short distance away at Melbourne Arena, #8 Williams had been in a tooth-and-nail battle with #27 Wang Qiang on Laver.

26-2 at the Australian Open since 2015, Williams had faced off with Wang in last year's U.S. Open quarterfinals. She'd destroyed her in a 44-minute match, allowing just one game and fifteen total points. It made this contest appear to be a mismatch to some, but it was noteworthy that remember that Wang certainly had played like a Top 10 in the closing months of the '18 season (so much so that it made her Top 30 '19 campaign seem "disappointing") and that she'd likely been somewhat adrift in such a big moment at Flushing Meadows just weeks after her coach (Aussie Peter McNamara) had passed away.

Perhaps Wang was seeking redemption on this day, or to prove something to herself (*that* wasn't me in New York) or maybe even honor McNamara's memory in his home nation in some way... even if it wasn't a consciously stated goal. Whatever the case, she played the match of her life.

Of course, Serena is used to that sort of thing happening when she's on the court. She often finds a way around it, though. But not today. Wang was just *too* good.




With Wang playing a remarkably clean game in the 1st set, the Chinese woman saved all four BP she faced (three when serving down 2-3), then snatched up the set's only break in game #9, then served out the set at 6-4. She carried over the momentum into the 2nd, too. Williams held from love/30 down early in the set, but Wang soon broke for a 3-2 lead. She was up 4-2 and held BP for an even bigger cushion on the scoreboard. But just when she needed it, after all the errors and lack of a reliable serve that had helped to put her into such a hole, Serena began to turn things around. She held for 4-3, and had BP on Wang's serve a game later, but Wang held for 5-3 with a Williams error off a net cord ball. Serving for the match at 5-4, Wang fell behind 15/40. Having been 0-for-5 in BP chances up to that point, Williams won a brilliant 24-shot rally with a crosscourt forehand winner to finally seize an opportunity. She raised her arms in triumph.



Usually, that would have been the beginning of the end for a Williams opponent. But not Wang. Williams fell behind 15/40 in game #11 before holding for 6-5, but Wang held to force a tie-break. With Serena up an early mini-break, Wang seemed to get things back on serve at 3-3 with a shot that both players thought had caught a line. But the call had actually been "out," and was confirmed after Wang's challenge. Williams took a 4-2 lead, and ran off with the TB at 7-2.



Again, normally, that might be the *next* step in a Williams opponent's demise. But not in Wang's case.

Serena failed to carry over her edge into the 3rd, and found herself in yet another tight battle, with Wang being unwilling to fold. At 4-4, she refused to blink in the face of Williams' hunt for slam #24 and, finally, with Serena serving down 5-6, Wang grabbed a 15/40 lead. After squandering her first two MP with obviously-tight misses, Wang's third MP proved to be a charm on this eve of the Chinese New Year. Williams' backhand miss ended the 6-4/6-7(2)/7-5 affair, as Wang presented her nation with the gift of it's biggest tennis moment since Li Na's retirement. Serena, with another slam chance slipping through her fingers, exits in the first week of a hard court major for the first time since 2006.



So, rather than the blockbuster Williams/Wozniacki Round of 16 match that would have generated a great deal of chatter, it'll be Wang vs. Jabeur. An interesting, and potentially history-making occasion, for sure. But, my, what a moment the alternative *could* have turned out to be.

...under the cover of those two big exits, '19 finalist Petra Kvitova (#7), barely noticed so far at this year's event, moved into another Round of 16 with a 6-1/6-2 win over #25 Ekaterina Alexandrova, and in the immediate post-match shadow of the Wozniacki and Williams defeats, #10 Madison Keys, who'd looked so good through the first two rounds, slipped out the back door, as well, upset by #22 Maria Sakkari, 6-4/6-4. The Greek, who reaches her first career slam Round of 16, rallied from 4-2 down in the 2nd set.



Before the start of the night session, #18 Alison Riske rallied from a set down vs. Julia Goerges to reach her third career slam Round of 16 (at a three different major), and the second in her last three attempts.

...after such an eventful day, you wonder how long the aftershocks of what happened will linger into the night, especially considering three-quarters of the featured women's matches include either a Bannerette or Chinese player, hitting the court just hours after their higher-ranked countrywomen were either sent packing or, well, *did* the unpacking. What was originally *thought* to be the big headline-grabbing match of Day 5 -- another slam match-up between #3 Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff -- begins the evening session on Laver, while MCA plays host to #14 Sofia Kenin vs. Zhang Shuai.

...also, just a note that I've added a new award to the list at the end of this post, as I've realized that this is the only slam that has yet to pick up a tournament-specific honor, ala the La Petit Taureau award at Roland Garros. So I'm going with a highly-fluid "G'Day/Good On Ya, Mate" Award given to the player (or otherwise) that embodies or embraces *something* that is specifically Aussie-related, be it good or bad, sincere or sarcastic. The first nominee is, not surprisingly, Ash Barty. Specifically, it's for her oh-so-Barty act of nonchalance when she essentially shrugged off (and played through) that Laver Arena roof leak that continually dripped water on the "MELBOURNE" section of the backcourt during her 1st Round match (that surely wouldn't have been the response of most other top player). Or maybe it's because she noted with a smile this week that her picture is on so many things in Australia these days that even's *she's* sick of seeing herself.

I'll also include the whole Aces for Bushfire Relief program that formed the heart of tennis' personal response to the Australian bushfires.




...THE PLOT OF THE NEXT "SAW" MOVIE ON DAY 5:




...Hmmm... ON DAY 5:



Yep... among other things.


...HAHAHA ON DAY 5 4:



Though I'm sure *someone* will be offended, as usual.


...PASSAGES ON DAY 5:



I walked past NFL Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson (Super Bowl IV MVP) alone in the corridor of the Pro Football Hall of Fame when I was a kid and didn't say anything, but I *did* know it was him. But I always hoped that was evened out by the time when, at the Redskins training camps in Pennsylvania (at around the same time) I caught Hall of Famer WR Charley Taylor (still the league's all-time reception leader at the time) alone (a rarity with the crowds that showed up) on the sidewalk as he was walking towards the Dickinson College athletic field (he was the Redskins' receivers coach) and asked for his autograph. He declined and said I should ask the players, then walked a few steps and turned around asked if I knew who he was. I said yes, and he gave me the autograph. It's really the only "story" I have from my short-lived "autograph-seeking" years.



...YEP ON DAY 5:





Not done quite yet...


["Life on Mars?" - 2000]



["Suffragette City" - 1972 footage/2016 edit]



[MTV interview - 1983]
...it's "interesting" what just a simple look and smile, even when accompanied with generally polite words, can convey when a question is responded to with clear and obvious BS.



["Imagine" - on anniversary of John Lennon's death, 1983]



["Little Fat Man" - from TV show "Extras," with Ricky Gervais, 2005]



Maybe one more of these tomorrow.




=WOMEN's SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS vs. #18 Alison Riske/USA
#22 Maria Sakkari/GRE vs. #7 Petra Kvitova/CZE
x vs. x
Ons Jabeur/TUN vs. #27 Wang Qiang/CHN
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x









Wink, wink.



















kosova-font

*AO "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"*
2012 GBR (0-4 1st Rd.; all on Day 1)
2013 AUS (1-6 in 1st Rd., 1-7 overall)
2014 ITA (top-seeded #7 Errani & #12 Vinci out 1st)
2015 CHN (year after Li champ, 1-5 in 1st Round)
2016 AUS (1-8 in 1st Rd.; only AUS-born in 2nd is a Brit)
2017 ROU (2-4 1st Rd., First Loss, 1st Seed Out, 3 Top 32 defeats)
2018 USA (0-8 start/1-9 on Day 1; 3/4 of '17 U.S. Open SF ousted)
2019 ROU (2-4 1st Rd., losses to two teens, #25 seed)
2020 BLR (0-2 1st Rd., #11 Sabalenka highest seed; Azarenka absent)

*AO "CRASH & BURN"*
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
2009 Venus Williams, USA (2nd Rd.)
2010 Maria Sharapova, RUS (1st Rd.)
2011 Jelena Jankovic, SRB (2nd Rd.)
2012 Samantha Stosur, AUS (1st Rd.)
2013 Samantha Stosur, AUS (2nd Rd.)
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE (1st Rd.)
2015 Ana Ivanovic, SRB (1st Rd.)
2016 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.)
2017 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.)
2018 S.Stephens, C.Vandeweghe & V.Williams, USA (1st/'17 US SF)
2019 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (1st Rd.; lost last 12 games)
2020 Serena Williams, USA (3rd Rd.)


kosova-font

I kept waiting for someone to say, "If you think our little comedic film can destroy the faith of what you think of as 'true believers' than it seems to me that you don't have much respect for those individuals, nor the faith you state guides both them and yourself."

But maybe that's just me.




kosova-font




kosova-font

So, is resistance still fu-tile? I don't know. The damn Australian Open kept me from watching the first episode today.




kosova-font



Single handedly making the royal family "worth the squeezing" in 2020?


kosova-font

I'd never even heard of something called "indoor bowls," but so what...?





TOP QUALIFIER: #31 Ann Li/USA
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #8 Serena Williams/USA
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): 2nd Rd. - Caroline Wozniacki/DEN def. #23 Dayana Yastremka/UKR 7-5/7-5 (double-break down in both sets, 5-1 in 1st; staves off retirement)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: 3rd Rd. - #27 Q.Wang d. #8 S.Williams
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)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Paula Badosa/ESP, Barbora Krejcikova/CZE, Ann Li/USA, Greet Minnen/BEL, Elena Rybakina/KAZ
UPSET QUEENS: Spain
REVELATION LADIES: Kazakhstan
NATION OF POOR SOULS: BLR (0-2 1st Rd., #11 Sabalanka highest seed out, Azarenka absent)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Harriet Dart/GBR, Nao Hibino/JPN, Barbora Krejcikova/CZE, Ann Li/USA, Caty McNally/USA, Greet Minnen/BEL (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARDS STANDING: Patricia Hon/AUS and Arina Rodionova/AUS (both 2nd Rd.) [PR: CiCi Bellis/USA - in 3rd Rd.]
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (in 4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Jabeur, Q.Wang, Sakkari, Riske
IT (??): Nominee: Jabeur (first Arab in slam 4r), Gauff, Sakkari (first Greek slam 4r since '05)
COMEBACK PLAYER: CiCi Bellis/USA
CRASH & BURN: #8 Serena Williams/USA (3r/Q.Wang - out of first week of HC slam for first time since 2006)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nominees: Sh.Zhang (1st Rd. - Stephens served for match in 2nd); Gauff (2nd Rd. - down 3-0 in 3rd vs. Cirstea)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Halep, Sh.Zhang, Osaka/Gauff
"G'DAY/GOOD ON YA, MATE" AWARD: Nominees: Barty (plays on despite leaky Laver roof in Rd.1; sick of seeing her own face around AUS); Aces for Bushfire Relief program
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 5. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:09 AM 

6 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

"What the hells going on out there?"- Vince Lombardi.

Osaka will leave Australia no higher than 9.

Sevastova drops to 41, and is now the 2nd highest ranked Latvian.

Gauff now at 50, will pass Sevastova if she wins next match.

As expected, Vekic/Swiatek do not get roof.

Wang grinded through that match. The fact that she held serve more often than Serena won her the match.

Stat of the Day- 5 - The amount of times Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have lost in the same round of a slam.

Linked by history? Jimmy Garoppolo and Patrick Mahomes will be after next Sunday's Super Bowl. So in an oddly fitting way, Wozniacki's final match simultaneously gets overshadowed by Serena's loss.

But isn't that how Wozniacki first broke out? Playing the Kelly Rowland role to Serena's Beyonce, the talented Caroline reached her first slam final, 2009 US Open, a rain delayed version, being played the same time as the mess that became Williams/Clijsters. Overshadowed by a tennis ball.

But even before that, specifically 5/30/2008, on a day known then because Venus and Serena both lost on the same day, Wozniacki also lost. To the eventual winner in Ivanovic. In fact, 3 of the 4 times this has happened, since tournament isn't over, the person who beat Wozniacki won the tournament.

Williams on left, Wozniacki on right:
2008 French Open- 3rd Srebotnik/Ivanovic-W
2010 French Open- QF Stosur/Schiavone-W
2011 Wimbledon- 4th Bartoli/Cibulkova
2016 US Open- SF Pliskova/Kerber-W
2020 Australian- 3rd Wang/Jabeur

Going by this, Jabeur should go farther, but she is 0-2 vs Wang. In a section already guaranteed 1st time SF.

Fri Jan 24, 10:44:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

And after all those years on tour, Williams and Wozniacki only actually *met* in a slam twice. Both times at the U.S. Open, in 2011 and '14. And they haven't met at all since 2014.

Speaking of Osaka... What. Was. That? That sort of performance should be something that is behind her at this point. Meanwhile, Gauff handled herself like a player *twice* her age.

Fri Jan 24, 02:46:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

I didn’t get to see the Osaka match, but when I woke up and saw the result, I wasn’t really surprised. I think she’s going to run hot and cold, maybe until she matures some more.

Fri Jan 24, 05:06:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

By the way, Day 6 update running a bit (well, a lot) late. Long power outage last night. :(

(And, no, that wasn't a dig at Svitolina or Pliskova... though it *could* be.) ;)

Sat Jan 25, 12:27:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

In that case...

Might be an unpopular opinion, but Swiatek has improved more than Gauff over the past 2 years. Vekic isn't her highest ranked win, that was Wang at #16.

Stat of the Day- 12- Amount of the sweet sixteen with a hardcourt title.

Listed will be the most recent title, or best results for those without. Notes come after.

2014- Riske- Tianjin
2017- Pavlyuchenkova- Hong Kong
2018- Kerber- Sydney
2018- Halep- Canada
2018- Wang- Guangzhou
2019- Kvitova- Sydney
2019- Mertens- Qatar
2019- Bertens- St. Petersburg
2019- Muguruza- Monterrey
2019- Kenin- Guangzhou
2019- Gauff- Linz
2020- Barty- Adelaide

2018- Sakkari- Stanford-F/2015 ITF Heraklion- W
2018- Kontaveit- Wuhan-F/2017 ITF Andrezieux-Boutheon-W
2018- Jabeur- Kremlin-F/2013 ITF Saguenay-W
2018- Swiatek- Jr. Wimbledon- W/2018 ITF Sharm El Sheikh

Kerber is the only former AO winner left, though 2018 and 2019 finalists are still alive.

5 former slam winners left.

6 Girls' winners left. Oddly enough, 5 of those 6 did not win on hard. The one that did was Pavlyuchenkova, who is both the only AO(2), and USO(1) winner left.

Possibly because the French Open had 11 former junior winners make the draw, including the last 2 in Fernandez and Gauff. Last 8 AO winners were not in main draw.

Swiatek trying to reach first WTA QF on hard. Only time she has been past R16 of any event was her Lugano final.

Only time Gauff has been past R16 of any event was her Linz win.

Halep crushed children's dreams in 2019. Both Swiatek(French), and Gauff(Wimbledon)had their previous R16 run ended by Simona.

Riske has lost her last 5 finals on hard. All 6 of her finals on hard have been in China.

Halep now has more titles on hard than clay. French Open title is her only one on clay in almost 3 years.

Mertens has won 3 titles on hard. All have been vs Romanians- Niculescu, Buzarnescu, Halep.

Kvitova has played 7 of the other current Top 9 in finals. The two missing are Andreescu and Williams. She played Bouchard twice, but in 36 finals, has never faced an American.

Barty has played 12 women in her 13 finals. The only woman to beat her twice is Kvitova, who beat her in Sydney last year. Kerber beat her in 2018. No 2020 loss, as it moved to Adelaide, and she finally won.

Muguruza has reached 8 of 11 career finals on hard. The other 3 are slams.

Between Muguruza and Pavlyuchenkova, 6 of the last 10 Monterrey winners are still alive.

2017 and 2018 Cinci winners Muguruza and Bertens are still alive. So are Halep and Kerber, who have lost the final 5 times between them.

Sat Jan 25, 02:30:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Monterrey... suddenly holding its head up high today. ;)

Sat Jan 25, 03:12:00 PM EST  

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