Saturday, January 25, 2020

AO.6 - The Power of Insurgency... and vintage Mugu

Hey, I remember her... she was awesome. Maybe she can be again.





=DAY 6 NOTES=
...a day after the exits of defending champ Naomi Osaka, 23-time major winner Serena Williams, retiring former champ Caroline Wozniacki and former semifinalist Madison Keys, Saturday proved to be another day when the power of insurgency sunk a few more talons into what remains the 2020 Australian Open women's singles draw. Three more top six seeds were sent packing as the Round of 16 was set.

(And a multi-hour power outage at Backspin HQ pushed this post into this afternoon so, in a sense, "I feel the pain.")

First to feel the Saturday heat was #2 Karolina Pliskova. Literally, right from the start. The Czech opened the day on Laver vs. #30-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a two-time AO junior champ (2006-07) with a particular affinity for this major. The Russian completed her Career Slam QF slam in Melbourne in 2017, and last year made the AO the only slam at which she's reached the Final 8 twice. On Day 6, she tested Pliskova in her first service game, and outlasted her in the end.

In just the second game of the match, Pliskova was made to *work* on serve against a player against whom she entered the day with a 6-0 head-to-head edge. In a game that lasted 17-minutes and took 30 points to complete, Pliskova managed to hold after saving six BP. But it would be a sign of things to come, as her big serve provided her little significant help.

Of course, as I've been saying for a couple of seasons now, *that* shot is a somewhat overvalued part of her game. On Tennis Channel, (mostly) Ted Robinson continually called Pliskova "one of the (game's) great servers," but she's really one of the game's great ace artists. One does not necessarily go hand in hand with the other. Just look at her twin Kristyna, who holds the top two spots in the record books for aces in a match... and she *lost* both matches. For all her ace totals, Pliskova hardly ever controls matches with her serve (unlike, say, Serena), which is something one must do if you're going to be called a *great* server. She briefly was able to do so in the '16 season, especially over the course of that summer, as she starred on North American hard courts, reached the U.S. Open final and carried that stretch to the #1 ranking in '17. Still, even then, improved movement and fitness were more important to her when its came to winning big matches, and that's especially key over the course of a two-week slam.

(Of course, Robinson was also "shocked" during this match when the "unemotional" Pliskova smacked her racket in anger at one point during the match. I guess he never saw her attack on the umpire's chair two years ago -- to the point of knocking a big hole in it -- after a match in Rome vs. Sakkari that I'm still amazed didn't garner her at least a brief suspension, or even a *big* fine.)

In the aftermath of that game, a very in-form Pavlyuchenkova raced out to a 4-1 lead. Pliskova pulled it back to 4-4, and had a double BP chance at 5-5 but couldn't take the lead. In the tie-break, the Czech led 2-0, but the Hordette claimed the set with a 7-4 win.

Pavlyuchenkova saved a pair of SP in the 2nd, but again it was a long Pliskova service game that played a part in the storyline. In game #11, at 5-5, Pliskova's nine-deuce, 15-minute hold in which she saved four BP gave her a 6-5 lead. Pliskova held two SP a game later, but couldn't get the break, and then couldn't overcome the Russian in a second TB, either. Pavlyuchenkova won this one 7-2 to get the biggest win of her slam career (she'd defeated then-#3 Vera Zvonareva at Roland Garros all the way back in 2011).



While the win is big for Pavlyuchenkova, it's also significant for the Russians. While a new mini-revolution has been brewing with the younger Hordettes on tour of late, true slam success has so far escaped *that* generation. So one of the (almost) originals had to get things back on course. This Round of 16 run ends a rare three-slam stretch in which no Russian had reached the 4th Round at a major. In fact, none reached the *3rd* Round at last year's Wimbledon or U.S. Open (ending a 76-slam streak of success that went back to 2000). As it is, now 72 of the last 78 slams have seen a Russian reach the second week.

...soon after, #28 Anett Kontaveit destroyed #6 Belinda Bencic 6-0/6-1 to reach the second week in Melbourne for a second time in her career. Kontaveit, who won the first eight games of the match, never faced a BP on the day, and won 86% of her first serves (vs. Bencic's 50%). Now the task of backing up such a big win on a big stage falls into the Estonian's lap, something that has proven to be a more difficult thing for her to accomplish in recent years.



In her previous slam 4th Round appearances, Kontaveit has either come up small (winning 2 games vs. Stephens at the '18 RG, and 3 vs. Venus at the '15 U.S.) or lost in a heartbreaker (8-6 3rd vs. CSN at the '18 AO).

She'll face Iga Swiatek, who knocked out #19 Donna Vekic 7-5/6-3 to reach her second career slam 4th Round ('19 RG), as she continues to attempt to fill the void left in Polish tennis by the retirement of Aga Radwanska.



...in the Laver night session, Garbine Muguruza, well, she resembled the Mugu of old. No, not *that* one. The GOOD GREAT one!

Against #5 Elina Svitolina, looking to pull off a *third* straight slam semifinal run to go with her fluke Wimbledon Final 4 and legitimate one in New York, on the heels of all the seemingly small signs we've seen through the first two weeks regarding how Muguruza's pairing with coach Conchita Martinez could potentially be a career legacy saver, we got some tangible proof of such this time around. Muguruza fired off 31 winners (vs. 9 UE) and simply *took* the match from the frustrated Ukrainian, winning 6-1/6-2. While one might note that, prior to last summer, Svitolina *usually* was run out of slams while barely hold onto a rail perched high above the head of, what, some "rail-runner"(?), it'd be just as easy to say we've seen this sort of thing before... from Muguruza.



After all, the Spaniard has won two slams, and when she did she often showed herself capable of beating anyone (she's defeated Serena in slams *twice*, including in the '16 RG final), as well *actually doing it*. She was unstoppable all over again on Saturday night. The recent return of her on-court smile was joined by that old look of determination and confidence. It was brilliant.

Let's hope it's here to stay. Well, it *is* Garbi... so let's say it'd be nice to see all that, oh, a healthy percentage of more than *half* the time she's on the court. If we get that, she might win a third major in 2020. Maybe even this one.



Hmmm, Muguruza is now just a win away from maybe facing Pavlyuchenkova, now coached by *her* former coach Sam Sumyk. I guess we -- and Garbi -- will cross that bridge when and if we come to it.

...ah, but even as some of the top-ranked players in the draw were swallowed up by fate, not *everyone* with (mostly) full resumes suffered such disappointment. In fact, a few were seemingly injected with new vim and vigor (or had their mostly-full tank topped off for the second week of play) as their games continued to come together more and more just as their path to glory got just a *little* less cluttered.

At the start of the day, the 2016 AO champ, #17-seed Angelique Kerber, weathered the storm that is Camila "I Don't Watch Tennis" Giorgi. The Italian gifted the German with a massive amount of unforced errors (20) and double-faults (8) in the opening set, handing Kerber a 6-2 win. 20 of her 29 points in the set were from Giorgi UE's, and her own 1-to-4 winner/unforced error stats made it appear as if she'd spent most of the set watching from the changeover area as Giorgi beat herself.

As is her wont, though, Giorgi put her blinders on and kept doin' her thing, and it started to work. A neck-and-neck 2nd set went to a TB. Kerber grabbed a 3-1 lead, but Giorgi surged back to take it 7-4. Kerber took a break lead at 3-1 in the 3rd, gave it back at 4-3, but immediately reclaimed her an advantage a game later. She then served out the 6-2/6-7(4)/6-3 win to reach the second week in Melbourne for a fifth straight year.



...#4 Simona Halep, a finalist in 2018, has only felt the heat of her own high expectations a few times through the first week, mostly when she allowed a big 2nd set lead a round ago vs. Harriet Dart to become uncomfortably close. Against the equally (well, maybe "perpetually" would be more accurate) excitable Yulia Putintseva, the Romanian didn't have to sweat or curse herself (or Darren Cahill & Co. in the stands) nearly as much, defeating the Kazakh 6-1/6-4 while doubling her in winners (26-13), winning 77% of her first serves and converting 5 of 9 BP attempts. This is Halep's third straight AO Round of 16, and she and Kerber are now two wins each away from a potential semifinal rematch of their epic Melbourne Final Four tilt from two seasons ago.



First, though, Halep must face #16 Elise Mertens, an AO semifinalist in her tournament debut in that same '18 event. The Belgian Waffle won an oddly symmetrical three-set 6-1/6-7(5)/6-0 match over former #35 CiCi Bellis (now at #600 and using a protected ranking after missing over a year and a half with injury), playing in Melbourne after having missed seven straight majors. Mertens dominated Bellis in the 1st and 3rd sets, dropping just five total points on serve. She led 4-2 in the 2nd, as well, before the Bannerette's fighting instinct kicked in and she battled back to force and win a 7-5 TB.



It wasn't meant to be for Bellis in a love 3rd set, but assuming she's escaped this slam with her health intact, after showing that her slight build (still) is in no way an accurate measure of the grit within, she'll hopefully use this event as a starting point for one of 2020's best comeback stories. As for Mertens, she's now posted an under-the-radar six slam Round of 16 results in just thirteen career MD appearances.

Meanwhile, in the night session on MCA, #9 Kiki Bertens advanced to her first career Round of 16 at a hard court major with a straight sets win over Zarina Diyas.



...in doubles, with both halves of last year's championship duo (Samantha Stosur, playing w/ Ellen Perez, and Zhang Shuai w/ Peng Shuai, both failed to get out of the 1st Round), the headline-worthy upsets were held to a minimum. Well, unless you consider the McCoco win over #8 Kveta Peschke/Demi Schuurs an "upset," which is probably, at best, a "push." Schuurs, for all her "regular season" success with different partners, is under .500 in WD matches in majors (and is now 1-5 at the AO). So the result wasn't exactly eyebrow-raising. Coco Gauff & Caty McNally will next face #10 Aoyama/Shibihara, with an eye on a match-up with #2 Babos/Mladenovic a round later in the QF.



...in junior play, Hordette Diana Shnaider (the one who wears that polka-dot bandana on her head), knocked off #3-seed Kamilla Bartone.






...the "Arab version of Sania Mirza?" ON DAY 6:




...APPLICABLE FOR SO MANY THINGS ON DAY 6:




...AGREE, but with conditions ON DAY 6:



After Coco Gauff's win over Naomi Osaka, the ESPNers were all over how great it is to have Gauff winning big matches like this one because the tour needs an infusion of personality/talent/attention, especially on a day when the likes of Wozniacki and Williams lose. "We want people to actually watch," Chris Evert said. Oddly enough, it all sounded a lot like what the same people were saying when they gushed on and on about Osaka in 2018, at least until they realized that it was a ridiculous pipe dream that she was suddenly going to start representing the U.S. rather than Japan.

It *is* great to have Gauff. And Osaka. And Andreescu. And Kenin. And any number of other young players making huge strides. The fear is that the likes of ESPN will go the all-Coco-all-the-time-and-ignore-everyone-else route, which is their standard operating procedure in cases such as this. It's one of the reasons much of a whole generation of WTA players were largely anonymous figures on ESPN during the Williams years. So much focus was given to Serena (and, to a lesser degree, Venus, Sharapova and maybe Wozniacki), if she/they happened to lose or wasn't there, casual or slam-only viewers tuned out because everyone else was a stranger since ESPN never bothered introducing them on even an elementary level.

Appreciate Coco, but don't largely dismiss a great forest to focus on just *one* impressive tree.



One more day...


["Space Oddity" - 1969]



["Space Oddity" - 1973 & 1974]
...what a diffrence a few years can make



["Modern Love" - 1987]



["Changes" - 1999]



["Rebel Rebel" - Madonna, after Bowie's death in 2016]



["Life on Mars?" - 2005]





=SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS vs. #18 Alison Riske/USA
#22 Maria Sakkari/GRE vs. #7 Petra Kvitova/CZE
Coco Gauff/USA vs. #14 Sofia Kenin/USA
Ons Jabeur/TUN vs. #27 Wang Qiang/CHN
#28 Anett Kontaveit/EST vs. Iga Swiatek/POL
#16 Elise Mertens/BEL vs. #4 Simona Halep/ROU
Garbine Muguruza/ESP vs. #9 Kiki Bertens/NED
#17 Angelique Kerber/GER vs. #30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS

=DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Hsieh/Strycova (TPE/CZE) vs. Jurak/Stojanovic (CRO/SRB)
Arruabarrena/Jabeur (ESP/TUN) vs. Brady/Dolehide (USA/USA)
#4 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #16 Kenin/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)
Carter/Stefani (USA/BRA) vs. #6 Dabrowski/Ostapenko (CAN/LAT)
#7 Chan/Chan (TPE/TPE) vs. Doi/Niculescu (JPN/ROU)
#13 V.Kudermetova/Riske (RUS/USA) vs. #3 Mertens/Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)
Gauff/McNally (USA/USA) vs. #10 Aoyama/Shibahara (JPN/JPN)
x/x vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
x/x vs. (WC) x/x
Sai.Zheng/Vliegen (CHN/BEL) vs.#8 Hsieh/Skupski (TPE/GBR)
#4 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL) vs. Swiatek/Kubot (POL/POL)
(WC) Sharma/JP.Smith (AUS/AUS) vs. x/x
#6 L.Chan/Dodig (TPE/CRO) vs. Klepac/Roger-Vasselin (SLO/FRA)
x/x vs. #3 Dabrowski/Kontinen (CAN/FIN)
x/x vs. Anisimova/Kryrgios (USA/AUS)
Melichar/Soares (USA/BRA) vs. N.Kichenok/Bopanna (UKR/IND)






















kosova-font


*AO "ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE" WINNERS*
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2011 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2012 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2013 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2014 Li Na, CHN
2015 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2016 Monica Puig, PUR
2017 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2020 Coco Gauff, USA ("Zombie Teen Queen")

*GIRLS SINGLES SEEDS*
1.Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
2.Robin Montgomery, USA
3.Kamilla Bartone, LAT [lost 1st Rd.]
4.Alexandra Eala, PHI
5.Linda Fruhvirtová, CZE
6.Maria Bondarenko, RUS
7.Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS
8.Polina Kudermetova, RUS
9.Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva, AND
10.Mélodie Collard, CAN
11.Mai Napatt Nirundorn, THA
12.Ane Mintegi del Olmo, ESP
13.Bai Zhuoxuan, CHN
14.Séléna Janicijevic, FRA
15.Priska Madelyn Nugroho, INA
16.Wong Hong-yi Cody, HKG

*DEFEATED SERENA & VENUS IN SLAMS, NEVER BEEN RANKED #1*
Ekaterina Makarova = def. SW ('12 AO), VW ('14 AO)
Sloane Stephens = def. SW ('13 AO), VW ('15 RG/'17 US)
Wang Qiang = def. SW ('20 AO), VW ('18 RG)
--
NOTE 1: Makarova became doubles #1
NOTE 2: Kerber, Ka.Pliskova and Muruguza removed selves from list when became singles #1


*2020 AUSTRALIAN OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 Ash Barty
#3 Simona Halep
#8 Petra Kvitova
#10 Kiki Bertens
#15 Sofia Kenin
#17 Elise Mertens
#18 Angelique Kerber
#19 Alison Riske
#23 Maria Sakkari
#29 Wang Qiang
#30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
#31 Anett Kontaveit
#32 Garbine Muguruza
#56 Iga Swiatek
#67 Coco Gauff
#78 Ons Jabeur
[by age]
32 - Angelique Kerber
29 - Petra Kvitova, Alison Riske
28 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Simona Halep, Kiki Bertens, Wang Qiang
26 - Garbine Muguruza
25 - Ons Jabeur
24 - Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens, Anett Kontaveit
23 - Ash Barty
21 - Sofia Kenin
18 - Iga Swiatek
15 - Coco Gauff
[by nation]
3...USA (Gauff,Kenin,Riske)
1...AUS (Barty)
1...BEL (Mertens)
1...CHN (Q.Wang)
1...CZE (Kvitova)
1...ESP (Muguruza)
1...EST (Kontaveit)
1...GER (Kerber)
1...GRE (Sakkari)
1...NED (Bertens)
1...POL (Swiatek)
1...ROU (Halep)
1...RUS (Pavlyuchenkova)
1...TUN (Jabeur)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
20 - Angelique Kerber
19 - Petra Kvitova
17 - Simona Halep
14 - Garbine Muguruza
7 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
6 - Ash Barty, Elise Mertens
4 - Kiki Bertens, Anett Kontaveit
3 - Alison Riske
2 - Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Wang Qiang
1 - Ons Jabeur, Maria Sakkari
[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
6 - Ash Barty
3 - Elise mertens
2 - Wang Qiang
[w/ multiple career AO Round of 16's]
7 - Angelique Kerber
5 - Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza
4 - Petra Kvitova
3 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2 - Ash Barty, Anett Kontaveit, Elise Mertens
[w/ consecutive AO Round of 16's]
5 - Angelique Kerber
4 - Petra Kvitova
3 - Simona Halep
2 - Ash Barty, Garbine Muguruza, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
[by region]
7 - Western Europe/Scandinavia (BEL-CZE-ESP-GER-NED-POL-ROU)
3 - North America/Atlantic (USA)
2 - Eastern Europe/Russia (EST-RUS)
2 - Asia/Oceania (AUS-CHN)
2 - Africa/Middle East/Mediterranean (GRE-TUN)
0 - South America (none)
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
61...Serena Williams
50...Venus Williams
40...Maria Sharpova
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova
25...Kim Clijsters
23...Victoria Azarenka
[22...Jelena Jankovic]
[21...Caroline Wozniacki]
20...Angelique Kerber
19...Petra Kvitova
17...Simona Halep



kosova-font



Well, it's a good thing this country is being led by intelligent people who respect science and facts, and who make big decisions based on the best interests of the entire U.S. population, then. Oh, wait.




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 - 3rd Rd.]
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (in 4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Jabeur, Q.Wang, Sakkari, Riske, Kenin, Pavlyuchenkova, Muguruza, Bertens
IT (??): Nominee: Jabeur (first Arab in slam 4r), Gauff (young Top 5 wins since '91), Sakkari (first Greek slam 4r since '05), Swiatek
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 OF MELBOURNE: Coco Gauff (2nd Rd. - down 3-0 in 3rd vs. Cirstea/ROU)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Nominees: Kvitova, Riske, Kerber, Pavlyuchenkova
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Halep, Gauff, Muguruza
"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 6. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:38 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

I'm pretty sure Ted Robinson has never seen ANYTHING having to do with women's tennis.

Sat Jan 25, 04:21:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Heehee. He always seems to be there, though... maybe it's like that plastic fruit people used to set out in a bowl on a table. :)

Sat Jan 25, 05:24:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Look closely, though, at Mary Carillo. Separated at birth, or something even more sinister?

Sat Jan 25, 06:58:00 PM EST  

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