Sunday, January 19, 2020

Wk.2- Moments Before Melbourne

Hold your horses! There are still a few tournaments to recap!




futuristic-fonts


*WEEK 2 CHAMPIONS*
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA (Premier/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Ash Barty/AUS def. Dayana Yastremska/UKR 6-2/7-5
D: Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan (USA/CHN) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Darija Jurak (CAN/CRO) 2-6/7-5 [10-5]
HOBART, AUSTRALIA (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Zhang Shuai/CHN 7-6(7)/6-3
D: Nadiia Kichenok/Sania Mirza (UKR/IND) def. Peng Shuai/Zhang Shuai (CHN/CHN) 6-4/6-4


kosova-font
eggs-font
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ash Barty/AUS
...after falling in the Sydney final the past two Januarys, then coming up short in Perth in last year's Fed Cup final, not to mention runner-up WD finishes at the AO (2013) and in Brisbane (Week 1), Barty was (over)due to be the last woman standing on home soil for the first time in her WTA career. In Adelaide, it finally happened.



Wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Marketa Vondrousova (her '19 RG final opponent), Danielle Collins (in a 3rd set TB) and Dayana Yastremska in the final allowed her to pick up her first tour-level title in her home nation. Barty won multiple ITF singles (2012-13) and doubles (2012-13, 16) challengers in Australia early in her pro career just before she returned full-time to the tour after her sabbatical from tennis.

The win could prove to be important on an emotional as well as psychological level as Barty heads to Melbourne as the first Australian woman seeded #1 there since 1977. She's seeking to become the first Aussie to win the title since 1978 (or even reach the semis since 1984). A year after her QF run at the event, Barty (as will likely be the case for however long she survives in the draw) will open play under the lights of Laver Arena on Night 1 vs. Lesia Tsurenko, with a few thousand vocal countrymates cheering her on.
===============================================
RISER: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...in announcing that her 43-year old father had died suddenly during the offseason (joining Alona Ostapenko and Amanda Anisimova as the third high-level WTA player -- a former slam winner, Top 10 player and slam semifinalist -- who've lost their dad in the last year, which is some truly horrible string of coincidences) Sabelenka added still another layer to her one step forward, one step back climb up the tour ladder.



A week after losing early during her Shenzhen title defense, Sabalenka rebounded with a semifinal run in Adelaide, knocking off Hsieh Su-wei (the vet served for the win at 5-3 in the 3rd), Bernarda Pera and Simona Halep (her 12th career Top 10 win, but by far her earliest in a season, with her previous earliest not coming until June). She was taken out by Dayana Yastremska, and will head to Melbourne seeking her first career slam QF result (her best is a U.S. Open 4th Rd. in '18). She'll open with soon-to-retire Carla Suarez-Navarro, with the likes of (2nd) Iga Swiatek, (3rd) Donna Vekic/Maria Sharapova/Alize Cornet and (4th) Belinda Bencic/Anett Kontaveit/Alona Ostapenko (yes) possibly standing the way of her next logical career goal.
===============================================
SURPRISE: Danielle Collins/USA
...having not played a tour match since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last fall (she *did* go 2-2 in challengers in November), Collins has so far shown up for 2020 in fine form for the new season, just in time to defend her '19 Australian Open semifinal run in Melbourne. Through two weeks the Bannerette is 5-2, with two dominating Top 10 wins (Elina Svitolina in Week 1, Belinda Bencic this week in Adelaide) while posting QF and SF results. The line score of her five wins have averaged 6-2/6-1 as she's allowed five or fewer total games vs. each conquered opponent (including Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Sofia Kenin in Week 2). In this week's semis, she pushed Ash Barty to a 3rd set TB in her attempt to finally reach her first tour-level final, coming within three points of her first #1 win before falling to the Aussie to drop to 0-4 in career WTA semis (including her slam breakout run at last year's AO).
===============================================


VETERAN: Zhang Shuai/CHN
...in Hobart, Zhang joined Serena Williams as the second player in two weeks to reach both the singles and doubles finals in 2020 tour-level event. Unfortunately, she didn't walk away with the title in either case.

The 30-year old, who won the AO women's doubles crown (w/ Sam Stosur) a year ago, quite literally coasted to the doubles final alongside Peng Shuai, notching a routine 1st Round win and then advancing via walkover through both the QF and SF into a final match-up with Nadiia Kichenok & Sania Mirza. The veteran Chinese pair fell in two sets, failing to completely turn the momentum in the 2nd set after nearly flipping the script when Mirza's mobility began to be noticeably affected by a calf injury.

In singles, Zhang reached her third career final (she won Guangzhou in 2013 and '17) after eliminating Kirsten Flipkens, Kateryna Kozlova, Lauren Davis and Veronika Kudermetova. In the final against Elena Rybakina, she erased a 4-1 1st set deficit and forced a TB, only to lose the tight breaker by a 9-7 score and then see the Kazakh pull away in the 2nd.
===============================================


COMEBACK: Heather Watson/GBR
...after spending most of 2019 ranked outside the Top 100, as low as #125 in October, Watson experienced an uptick in her results in the 4th Quarter, reaching her first final in three and a half years in Tianjin in October. She finished the season at #92.

Having slipped just outside the Top 100 again in the opening weeks of '20, the Brit's successful qualifying attempt in Hobart (where she won in '15 for her second of three career tour crowns) was combined with MD wins over Jil Teichmann, Fiona Ferro and #1-seed/two-time defending champ Elise Mertens to reach the semifinals. Her run was ended in three sets by eventual champ Elena Rybakina, but Watson will jump to #75 heading into the Australian Open, her highest standing since April 2018. She could face Mertens again in the 2nd Round in Melbourne.
===============================================


FRESH FACES: Elena Rybakina/KAZ and Dayana Yastremska/UKR
...Rybakina has blasted out of the starting gates into the 2020 season, reaching the finals of her first two events of the season. In Hobart, the 20-year old Kazakh overcame several mid-match shifts in momentum to complete wins over Tamara Zidansek, Alize Cornet, Lizette Cabrera, Heather Watson and Zhang Shuai. In her fourth tour final in seven months, Rybakina nearly squandered a commanding 4-1 1st set lead vs. Zhang, but prevailed in a 9-7 tie-break and closed out the veteran in straights to claim her second career title. 9-1 thus far in '20, Rybakina has gone 29-9 since winning her maiden WTA title in Bucharest last July. Over that span, her ranking has climbed from #106 to her new career high of #26 as the Australian Open begins. The #29 seed in Melbourne, Rybakina opens with Bernarda Pera as she seeks her first career MD slam win. If she reaches the 3rd Round, she could face off with fellow Week 2 singles champion, #1 Ash Barty.



In Adelaide, Yastremska defeated multiple Top 20 players (Angelique Kerber via retirement, Donna Vekic and Aryna Sabalenka) in a single event for the first time, along with Timea Babos, en route to her maiden Premier singles final. She fell to Barty in straights in the final, failing to emerge victorious for the first time in her four WTA finals, but will climb to a new career high of #21 in the new rankings.



After facing off with qualifier Kaja Juvan in the 1st Round in Melbourne, the Ukrainian could very well get the opportunity to hand Caroline Wozniacki a career-ending loss in the 2nd Round.
===============================================
DOWN: Sloane Stephens/USA and Caroline Garcia/FRA
...Stephens is still searching. Perhaps in vain, perhaps not. At any rate, after starting her '20 campaign by losing to the world #129 (Liudmila Samsonova) in Week 1 she fell to #201 (Arina Rodionova) in her opening match in Adelaide. Having gone 1-4 back to her trip to Wuhan last fall, and 4-10 starting with her 3rd Round loss to Jo Konta as last year's Wimbledon, Stephens has changed coaches twice in a little over a year in an attempt to find the correct head space necessary to live up to her talent between the lines. To date, Kamau Murray's second stint in the job (which began last August) doesn't seem to have made a dent in righting the lingering ennui that has so often hung over her game since winning the U.S. Open in '17, as well as at various stages over the entire course of her career.

Meanwhile, in Hobart, Garcia followed up a loss to #262 (Genie Bouchard) with another to #129 (Lizette Cabrera) and remains without a multi-win tour event appearance since playing on the grass in Mallorca last summer. Though she experienced an ultra-high during the stretch (winning the Fed Cup in Perth last November, though she was double-bageled in singles in that tie by Ash Barty) she's gone a combined 6-15 (with just one win over a player in the Top 75) since.
===============================================
ITF PLAYER: Nadia Podoroska/ARG or Claire Liu/USA
...Sunday's final in the $25K challenger in Malibu, California will see a match up of Podoroska vs. Liu.

Podoroska, 22, won Pan American Games Gold last summer, saving MP vs. Caroline Dolehide in the final. The #2-seeded Argentine enters with an 11-2 career mark in challenger singles finals. 19-year old Bannerette Liu, the '16 Wimbledon girls champ, has already upset #1 seed Amandine Hesse (w/ a love set) in the event and comes into the match with a 4-0 career mark in pro singles finals.
===============================================
JUNIOR STAR: Dana Guzman/PER
...at Barranquila, 16-year old Guzman picked up her biggest career title at the Grade 1 girls event in Colombia. Guzman swept the singles and doubles (w/ Venezuela's Sofia Elena Cabezas Dominguez) titles, defeating top-seeded Ana Geller in the singles semis, then outdueling Bannerette Hina Inoue 7-6(6)/6-3 in the Saturday final. Her biggest previous title was Grade 2 in 2017.

If Guzman's name *seems* familiar, maybe it's because she *has* been highlighted here before, having had some winning moments in Fed Cup play for Peru. The teenager went 4-2 in singles (1-1 in doubles) the last two years in Americas zone play.

In Prague, Czech Barbora Palicova will meet Belarusian Kristina Dmitruk for the title of the week's other Grade 1 junior event.
===============================================
DOUBLES: Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan (USA/CHN) and Nadiia Kichenok/Sania Mirza (UKR/IND)
...in Week 1, new doubles mates Melichar & Xu won just one match in Brisbane, but they returned to charge through Week 2, dropping no sets while reaching the final. Once there, they faced off with last-minute twosome Gaby Dabrowski (Xu's former doubles partner with whom she won five titles) & Darija Jurak and came back from a set down to win the title, saving two MP before finishing off a 10-5 super-TB victory. The win gives Melichar her seventh tour WD title, her first without Kveta Peschke by her side since May '17, and Xu her tenth.



In Hobart, Mirza returned for the first time since exiting the tour over two years ago (Oct.'17) while pregnant with her first child. Teaming with Kichenok, they won a pair of 3rd set TB (vs. Kalashnikova/Kato and King/McHale) and then defeated Peng Shuai & Zhang Shuai in a straight sets final. It's Kichenok's fifth tour crown, while Mirza's 42nd (the most amongst active tour players, in her 62nd final) is her first since taking Brisbane three years ago alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: TBD
...the first big Super Series wheelchair event of 2020 is underway in Tweed Heads, Australia with Sunday's finals *mostly* set. Jordanne Whiley defeated world #3 Aniek Van Koot in one semifinal on Saturday, while top seeded Yui Kamiji must still finish her 3rd set (suspended due to rain) vs. countrywoman Momoko Ohtani in the other. In the doubles final, Brits Whiley & Lucy Shuker will face off will the aforementioned Japanese duo.

Whiley & Kamiji, of course, are not only best friends but at one time formed a dominant doubles duo that won nine slams from 2014-17, including five straight in one stretch, and even faced off in the '15 U.S. Open singles final (Whiley's only solo slam title). They've mostly been apart in recent years as Whiley had a baby, while in Paralympic years (which '20 is) they've usually teamed up with fellow countrywoman in preparation for the games (which is likely the reason for the partnerships this week).

UPDATE: Kamiji swept the singles and doubles titles, defeating Whiley 6-4/6-1, then teaming with Ohtani (ah, maybe she finally has a worthy Japanese partners for the Paralympics) to defeat Shuker/Whiley in a 3rd set TB.




Meanwhile...


===============================================


*TOP Q-PLAYERS*
1. Ann Li, USA (19, #142)
...the '17 Wimbledon junior finalist only made her WTA MD debut in Week 1, but now she'll make her slam debut, as well, after a great run through AO qualifying that included wins over Mayar Sherif, Yanina Wickmayer and #1-seeded Ana Bodan in the final round.


===============================================
2. Shelby Rogers, USA (27, #155)
...Rogers reaches her first AO MD since her 2018 knee injury, dropping no sets vs. Mona Barthel, #8 Aliona Bolsova and #30 Caroline Dolehide. She reached the 2nd Round in Melbourne in '17.
===============================================
3. Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN (17, #206)
...the '19 RG girls champs earns her slam MD debut at 17, making it through qualifying in her first career attempt at a major. The Canadian lost no sets against the likes of #7 Patricia Maria Tig, Mayo Hibi and Danielle Lao.


===============================================
4. Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (21, #108)
...the Russian posted wins over former slam finalist Sara Errani and Chinese youngster Wang Xinyu (coming back from 6-4/5-3 down and saving a MP) in the final round, reaching the AO MD as a qualifier for a third straight year. This is also the third straight major at which she pulled off a qualifying run, something she's done at *four of the last five* slams.
===============================================
5. Johanna Larsson, SWE (31, #213)
...the Swedish vet dropped no sets while recording wins over Urszula Radwanska, #29 Mandy Minella and #3 Varvara Gracheva. She's 0-3 in her AO MD career.
===============================================

*OTHER AO QUALIFIERS*
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (18/#172) - making her slam debut, the teenager knocked out two qualifying seeds
Harriet Dart, GBR (23/#169) - makes her AO debut after dropping no sets in three matches. She reached the Wimbledon 3rd Rd. in '19.
Nao Hibino, JPN (25/#102) - she's 1-9 in her slam MD career, with only a '17 1st Rd. win at the U.S. Open
Kaja Juvan, SLO (19/#126) - defeated #6 Vikhlyantseva in the Q3 to secure her AO debut appearance
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (24/#127) - the three-time slam WD champ makes her AO singles debut after dropping no sets in qualifying, but remains just 0-1 in her slam MD career. This is only her second successful slam Q run in 17 attempts since 2014.
Antonia Lottner, GER (23/#116) - 0-3 in slam MD matches, the German makes her AO debut
Caty McNally, USA (18/#116) - the other half of "McCoco" joins the AO draw for the first time. She won a MD match at last year's U.S. Open.
Greet Minnen, BEL (22/#119) - the Waffle finally makes her slam debut after having lost in the Q3 at last year's RG and SW19
Monica Niculescu, ROU (32/#128) - the oldest qualifier, she reached the AO 3rd Rd. three times (2011-12,14)
Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (21/#118) - making her AO debut, the Russian lost in the '19 RG 1r in her only previous slam MD match
Martina Trevisan, ITA (26/#154) - making her slam debut, she dropped no sets in qualifying (def. Bouchard in Q3)

*AO QUALIFIERS - BY NATION*
3 - USA
2 - ITA,RUS
1 - BEL,CAN,CZE,GBR,GER,JPN,ROU,SLO,SWE



=MAKING SLAM MD DEBUTS AT AO=
=AUTOMATIC ENTRY MD=
Nina Stojanovic, SRB
=WC=
Han Na-Lae, KOR
=Q=
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
Ann Li, USA
Greet Minnen, BEL
Martina Trevisan, ITA

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN "Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK" WINNERS*
2006 Ashley Harkleroad, USA
2007 Julia Vakulenko, UKR
2008 Julia Schruff, GER
2009 Elena Baltacha, GBR
2010 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
2011 Vesna Manasieva, RUS
2012 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
2013 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2015 Renata Voracova, CZE
2016 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2017 Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
2018 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2019 Astra Sharma, AUS
2020 Ann Li, USA


kosova-font
1. Hobart 1st Rd. - CiCi Bellis def. Marie Bouzkova
...3-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Bellis recovers from a set and 4-1, two-break deficit, saving a MP vs. the Czech before winning in 2:50 to record her first post-wrist/arm/elbow surgeries (4 in all) WTA MD win since Indian Wells '18.


===============================================
2. Adelaide SF - Ash Barty def. Danielle Collins
...3-6/6-1/7-6(5). Collins came within three points of her maiden tour final appearance, but falls to 0-4 in her attempts (so far).


===============================================
3. Hobart Final - Elena Rybakina def. Zhang Shuai
...7-6(7)/6-3. With her second career win, though she's only represented the nation since mid-2018, Rybakina is now Kazakhstan's all-time WTA singles title leader.


===============================================
4. Adelaide Final - Ash Barty def. Dayana Yastremska
...6-2/7-5. Barty's singles title run is the first by an Aussie woman on Australian soil on tour since Jarmila Wolfe (née Gajdošová, formerly Groth) won Hobart in 2011.


===============================================
5. Hobart QF - Heather Watson def. Elise Mertens
...6-7(5)/6-4/7-5. In a rainy match-up that took 3:31 to complete (w/ delays), the '15 Hobart champ defeats the 2018-19 winner (and '20 #1 seed).


===============================================
6. Adelaide QF - Ash Barty def. Marketa Vondrousova
...6-3/6-3. Seven months after their Roland Garros final, Vondrousova (slightly) improves upon the 6-1/6-3 scoreline vs. Barty in Paris.


===============================================
7. Adelaide QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Simona Halep
...6-4/6-2. Sabalenka's fifth career Top 5 victory. She didn't notch her first Top 10 win in '19 until September in Wuhan.


===============================================
8. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/6-4. And 2020 gets a little bit sh***ier once more for the Hordette. Kasatkina had a two-match winning streak over Bencic.


===============================================
9. Hobart 2nd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Ons Jabeur
...3-6/6-3/7-6(4). While her run in Hobart ultimately ended with a walkover (viral illness) in the QF, Muguruza posted another '20 victory from a set down, this time while also saving a MP in a match delayed multiple times by rain. She hadn't played in Hobart since winning her maiden WTA title there in 2014.
===============================================


10. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Marketa Vondrosova def. Tatjana Maria
...6-3/6-0. The Czech's first match since her Wimbledon wrist injury. She followed up with a 6-0/6-0 win over Arina Rodionova in the 2nd Round.

View this post on Instagram

First win of the year????

A post shared by Marketa (@marketavondrousova) on


===============================================
11. Hobart 1st Rd. - Lizette Cabrera def. Caroline Garcia
...4-6/6-4/6-2. Every January, a young Aussie pulls off some big early-season upsets. This year it's #129 Cabrera, who backed up this one with a win over Kristyna Pliskova a round later.


===============================================
12. Adelaide Final - Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan def. Gaby Dabrowski/Darija Jurak
...2-6/7-5 [10-5]. A week after Karolina Pliskova recovered from MP down in the SF to win in Brisbane, Melichar/Xu save two in the Adelaide final.


===============================================









kosova-font
1. Hobart Final - Nadiia Kichenok/Sania Mirza def. Peng Shuai/Zhang Shuai
...6-4/6-4. Kichenok becomes Mirza's sixteenth different partner to share at least one of her 42 career tour doubles titles.


===============================================


2. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Arina Rodionova def. Sloane Stephens
...6-2/6-2. With Stephens' loss to the world #201, her worst since 2011, is the Future... over?



All right. We'll table that... for now.
===============================================
3. Hobart 1st Rd. - Nadiia Kichenok/Sania Mirza def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Miyu Kato
...2-6/7-6(3) [10-3]. Mirza's title run began with her first win since October 2017.


===============================================
HM- Hobart 1st Rd. - Kateryna Bondarenko/Sharon Fichman def. Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan
...2-6/6-3 [10-4]. The sisters, co-#15's in doubles, drop to 0-2 on the season after falling in the first match of their title defense. They haven't won a match together since September, and are currently riding a six-match losing streak (w/ a 0-3 mark in the WTAF).

Hmmm, I wonder if they might soon decide to spend a little less time together?
===============================================




1. AO Q3 - #5 Anna Kalinskaya def. Wang Xiyu
...4-6/7-6(2)/6-2. The Russian surges back from 6-4/5-3 down, saving a MP at 5-4, to qualify for her third straight AO, and third straight slam.
===============================================


2. AO Q1 - Maddison Inglis def. Rebecca Sramkova
...6-3/0-6 [19-17]. On her 22nd birthday, the Aussie rallies from 8-4 down in the 3rd set super TB, saving four MP.
===============================================


3. AO Q1 - Stefanie Voegele def. Dalila Jakupovic
...4-6/6-5 ret. The video (and retirement) that set off an explosion of debate and condemnation over the Australian Open's decision to hold Day 1 of the qualifying event while a haze of smoke from the ongoing fires hovered over the city.



===============================================
4. AO Q1 - Genie Bouchard def. You Xiaodi
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-1. Bouchard stages a comeback from 6-4/2-0 down to win in 2:54...




...but her *overall* comeback, bolstered by a QF run in Auckland in Week 1, was halted in the third qualifying round by Italian Martina Trevisan. This will mark the first AO MD the Canadian has missed since 2013, the year *before* her semifinal run in her Melbourne debut.
===============================================
5. AO Q1 - Wang Xinyu def. Irina Falconi
...3-6/6-2 [10-8] Wang wins the final four points of the TB to get the victory. But, for Falconi, there was at least a side benefit...


===============================================
HM- AO Q3 - Liudmila Samsonova def. Wang Xiyu 6-4/2-6/7-5
AO Q3 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Tereza Martincova 6-2/6-1
AO Q3 - Greet Minnen def. Barbara Haas 6-2/6-1
AO Q3 - Antonia Lottner def. Destanee Aiava 6-4/6-2
AO Q3 - Leylah Annie Fernandez def. Danielle Lao 7-5/7-5
AO Q3 - Kaja Juvan def. Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6-3/6-3
AO Q3 - Caty McNally def. Gabriela Ruse 6-1/6-1
...between Rybakina reaching two finals (and winning one), Yastremska reaching a final, Samsonova upsetting Stephens in Week 1 and all these "favored" qualifiers, a slew of top picks from this year's Prediction Blowout are looking good a lot earlier than might usually be the case. Of course, Varvara Gracheva lost in the *final* round of qualifying, though, so one can't have everything.
===============================================


futuristic-fonts


kosova-font




Simona scoffs at peer pressure...



"What do you mean (fill in personal gripe) didn't get an Oscar nomination?"









[From InstaStory]







































View this post on Instagram

My journey to a healthier me!!! 18 months,53 kilos lost and more than 31 kilos lost on the @jennycraigausnz program. Choosing to go on this journey publicly wasn’t easy and I had lots of doubts and fears about putting myself and my weight struggles out there for everyone to see. I am glad I did it and I want to thank everyone for their love and support as I literally didn’t get one bad comment or any hate and negativity and I am grateful for that. In fact all I got was love,support,understanding and help. I especially want to thank @jennycraigausnz for helping me thru the toughest part of my journey and for helping me lose the majority of my weight but more importantly helping me get healthier,find balance when it comes to food and my lifestyle and for giving me my life back. My goal for doing this publicly was to inspire,motivate and help other people and I hope I have done that.I hope I have shown you all that you can achieve anything in life. I hope I have shown you all that anything is possible and that everything can be achieved with hard work,belief,patience and perseverance. Go to the link in my bio to see more on my story and how @jennycraigausnz helped me get back into shape. ?????????????????????????? #jennycraig #jennycraigausnz #jennycraigjourney #jennycraigfood #health #healthy #healthylifestyle #lifestyle #transformation #weightloss #weightlossjourney #weightlossmotivation #weightlosstransformation #motivation #inspiration #fitness #inspo #fitspo #fitnessmotivation #australia #happy #confidence #fitfam #healthyliving #healthyeating #journey #inspire #empower #women #empoweringwomen

A post shared by Jelena Dokic ???????????? (@dokic_jelena) on




mf-xinghei-font


kosova-font

*2019-20 WTA TITLES*
4 - ASH BARTY, AUS (2020: 1)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1)
3 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3 - Sofia Kenin, USA
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
2 - Kiki Bertens, NED
2 - Madison Keys, USA
2 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
2 - Rebecca Peterson, SWE
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA, KAZ (1)
2 - Jill Teichmann, SUI
2 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
2 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR

*2020 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
#2 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
#10 - Serena Williams (Auckland)
#30 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
#34 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)

*2019 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
20 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
23 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
25 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)
28 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
38 - Serena Williams (Auckland)

*WTA TITLE LEADERS - KAZAKHSTAN*
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA (2019 Bucharest, 2020 Hobart)
1 - Zarina Diyas (2017 Tokyo)
1 - Yulia Putintseva (2019 Nuremberg)
-
NOTE: Shvedova won 1 representing RUS in '07; 0-1 in finals as KAZ

*MIRZA - TITLE-WINNING PARTNERS*
14 - Martina Hingis (2015-16)
6 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (2007,12-13,15,17)
5 - Cara Black (2013-14)
3 - Liezel Huber (2004-06)
2 - Mahesh Bhupathi (2009,12 MX)
2 - Elena Vesnina (2011)
2 - Barbora Strycova (2016)
1 - Chuang(2009), Gallovits(2010), N.KICHENOK(2019), King (2007), Niculescu(2016), Peer(2007), An.Rodionova(2012), Santangelo(2007), Shvedova(2011), Soares(2014 MX), J.Zheng(2013)
--
42 WD + 3 MX






futuristic-fonts


kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font

[from Washington Post, January 13: "New York Public Library’s Most Checked-out Books Say a Lot About What We Read and Why]

"Other books on this list present our anxieties in far less subtle tones. Two of the top 10 are dystopian novels, nightmarish visions of governments determined to distort and destroy independent thought. Skeptics may say that George Orwell’s “1984” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” appear here only because they’ve been assigned in high schools for decades, but if that were the sole driver of these circulation stats, then where are “Huckleberry Finn” and “The Great Gatsby” with their decades’ head start?

No, Orwell and Bradbury prick a nerve deep in our souls. Especially for people who haunt libraries, nothing is as hypnotically horrific as the incineration of books that Bradbury imagined. And Orwell’s “1984” elaborates on that terror in ways we never forget. Writing in the ashes of World World II, he described a totalitarian society under constant surveillance and devoted to a cult of personality that suffers no dissension. The terrified citizens of Oceania endure such a torrent of deceptive language from their leader that facts become infinitely flexible, essentially irrelevant. On one hand, it’s encouraging to see such a politically incisive book garner a wide readership over many decades. But on the other, it’s distressing that the popularity of “1984” has not been enough to keep it from coming true in America."







kosova-font




All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:51 AM 

3 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Robert Reich's tweet is sad, but real.

On a lighter note, had not seen the Mean Girls one. 3 managers down a month before spring training.

Belinda Woolcock didn't make it through Q, but may have been the most fun to watch this week. Should be around 80-100 by her stats, but near 300, her Ostapenko like game at a lower skill level is interesting to watch.

Collins is the cross court queen, but can't go down the line to save her life. Nor can she defend it. A poor man's Jankovic is her worst nightmare.

Doubles draw is out, and Bouzkova's no good, horrible week continues as Bouzkova/Zidansek start vs #1 Hsieh/Strycova.

6 of 16 seeds, and 27 of 64 teams are same nationality.

4th qtr goes nuts as Gauff/McNally, Barty/Goerges, and Babos/Mladenovic all reside there.

Stat of the Day- 2 The number of times last season in which a singles player reached a final in back to back weeks.

A rarity indeed. Brought to light because Rybakina has already done so, splitting her results.

This does not include Osaka, who won back to back events she entered during the Asian swing, as she skipped a week, nor Andreescu, who won Toronto, then skipped Cincinnati, then also the new Bronx event, then won US Open.

The two were literally at opposite ends of the season, and each won and lost a final. They were Kvitova, who followed up her Sydney win with AO final, and Ostapenko, who ended the year reaching the Linz final, then winning in Luxembourg.

Sun Jan 19, 06:29:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

...and I'm suspicious about the whole Altuve/Bregman buzzer thing, even if they deny it. Any "evidence" was disposed of long ago, after all.

Odd that Stosur/Zhang aren't defending their title, but I guess Olympic prep (Zhang/Peng) is on. Kenin/Mattek... maybe the Olympics *is* a thing for them (or at least FC). Ah, *and* the return of the Bellis/Vondrousova duo!

Haha... last week I took your Serena vs. U.S. players in finals quiz question. This week you took my 27/64 doubles duos being same-nation pairings stat. ;)

Sun Jan 19, 12:58:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

UPDATE TO POST: Kamiji swept the singles and doubles titles at the wheelchair event in Tweeds Head.

Sun Jan 19, 01:03:00 PM EST  

Post a Comment

<< Home