Sunday, February 16, 2020

Wk.6- Crazy Eights

The best home remedy for Fed Cup disappointment? Defending a singles title, of course.




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*WEEK 6 CHAMPIONS*
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (Premier/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Kiki Bertens/NED def. Elena Rybakina/KAZ 6-1/6-3
D: Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara (JPN/JPN) def. Kaitlyn Christian/Alexa Guarachi (USA/CHI) 4-6/6-0 [10-3]
HUA HIN, THAILAND (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Magda Linette/POL def. Leonie Kung/SUI 6-3/6-2
D: Arina Rodionova/Storm Sanders (AUS/AUS) def. Barbara Haas/Ellen Perez (AUT/AUS) 6-3/6-3


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kiki Bertens/NED
...after doing nearly all she could to get the Netherlands past Belarus in last week's Fed Cup qualifier -- going 2-0, but losing a deciding doubles match via a 3rd set TB in The Hague -- Bertens did the only thing she could do to begin to smooth over the bad feelings: she didn't lose a match.



As the defending Saint Petersburg champ, Bertens became the first to take the crown in back-to-back years by defeating four straight Russia-born opponents en route to the title. Wins over Veronika Kudermetova, Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elena Rybakina (for KAZ, the only current non-Russian) to pick up career title #10 in her fifteenth WTA final. For Bertens, who further enhanced her surface versatility stats by picking up her third career hard court title, it's her second successful title defense, having also won consecutive seasons in Nuremberg in 2016-17.


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RISERS: Magda Linette/POL, Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS and Maria Sakkari/GRE
...one never knows what you'll get from a player coming into the week off a Fed Cup weekend, as Week 6 saw the usual mix of early at-least-they-put-an-appearance exits as well as momentum-continuing deep runs.

Linette played the role of singles #1a or #1b (depending on the headline) for Poland in Europe/Africa I zone play, going 3-0 as the nation won its way into April FC Playoff round. Jetting off from Luxembourg to Hua Hin, Linette kept her roll going by reaching her fourth career WTA final with wins over Kateryna Bondarenko, Peng Shuai, Wang Xiyu and Patricia Maria Tig. In the final against surprise qualifier sensation Leonie Kung, the Pole took advantage of her edge in experience and relative freshness (Linette's four matches and nine sets vs. Kung's six and fourteen during the week) to put away the 6-3/6-2 win to pick up her second career tour title.

The 28-year old jumps up nine spots to a new career high of #33 this week, putting a little additional (though likely temporary) distance between herself and countrywoman Iga Swiatek (POL #2 at #49, but likely seen as #1a or #1b by most, depending on the set of eyes) on the WTA computer.



Alexandrova went 2-0 in her first outing as Russia's load-carrying singles player last week in a 3-2 road win over Romania. On home soil just days later, she reached the semis in Saint Petersburg. That she carried over her form shouldn't have come as a surprise, since the Hordette has been steadily putting togetherg impressive winning runs since the latter stages of '19. After ending last season by going 15-5 following the U.S. Open, Alexandrova has gotten off to a 12-2 start in '20, reaching a pair of SF and this coming week rising into the Top 25 for the first time. The current Russian #1 defeated countrywoman (and former RUS #1) Dasha Kasatkina in three sets in the opening round, then backed it up with a victory over Donna Vekic (her ninth straight win indoors). After getting a walkover in the QF from an ill (Oh) Petra Kvitova, Alexandrova took Kiki Bertens to three sets in the semis before finally succumbing to the defending champion.



In the same event, Sakkari (who was initially on Greece's FC roster last week, but never participated) also reached the semis, coming back from 5-2 in the 3rd and MP down in the 1st Round vs. Vitalia Diatchenko to get the win, then following up with additional victories over Alize Cornet and Belinda Bencic (tying her career best with her third win over a world #5). After having come back from a set down vs. the Swiss, Sakkari then won the 1st but ultimately lost in three to Elena Rybakina in the semis.


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SURPRISES: Leonie Kung/SUI and Storm Sanders/AUS
...a year ago, Jil Teichmann proved to be a Swiss entry in the Generation PDQ universe. This week, '18 Wimbledon girls runner-up Kung entered her name in the competition, as well. The 19-year old, ranked #283, made her way through qualifying to play in just her second career tour-level MD. Then things really got interesting.



Wins over Zhu Lin, Wang Qiang and Nao Hibino paved the way to her maiden WTA final appearance, where she finally hit a wall in veteran Magda Linette. Had Kung won, she'd been the quickest to win a WTA title in her career since Marketa Vondrousova took Biel (in SUI) in her second MD outing in 2017 (before that, the most recent had been Hibino's second MD title run in Tashkent in '15).

Kung will now see a massive spike in her standing on tour, as she jumps 128 spots to #155 on Monday, going from the eighth ranked Swiss to the fifth, one of twenty teenagers ranked in the Top 200.




Meanwhile, 25-year old Aussie Sanders spent two years away from singles due to injury, turning her focus to doubles during the period (winning a tour title in '17, as well a handful on the ITF circuit). Sanders returned to solo action last October, and things have been going pretty well so far.

In Hua Hin, she had her first successful qualifying run at tour-level event since August '16, as well as a 1st Round victory over Ulrikke Eikeri that allowed her to match her career-best WTA result from January '14 in Hobart. Sanders lost in the 2nd Round to Elina Svitolina -- her first match-up ever with a Top 10 player, and first vs. the Top 20 in six years -- but her three match wins improve her singles record to 18-5 since her return (a stretch that included a $60K title in November on the Australian challenger circuit in November, her first singles crown since '13).



But Sanders wasn't finished, as she also teamed with countrywoman Arina Rodionova to reach her fourth career WTA final. After not dropping a set in their first three matches, the Aussies swept the duo of Barbara Haas and Ellen Perez, 6-3/6-3. It was Sanders' second career tour title, but her first since 2017 in Nottingham.
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VETERAN: Arina Rodionova/AUS
...Rodionova's doubles title run in Hua Hin with Sanders was a career first, as she'd been winless in her six previous tour-level finals going back to her first in 2010 with her sister Anastasia. It adds another facet to what has already been a successful '20 season for the Aussie. She reached the AO MD after winning Tennis Australia's Wild Card Playoff tournament (she defeated Sanders in the final) during the offseason. After heading to Adelaide in Week 2, where she qualified with wins over Carla Suarez-Navarro and Anastasia Potapova, Rodionova upset Sloane Stephens in the 1st Round. In Melbourne, she recorded her first MD victory in the event with a win over Kataryna Bondarenko.


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COMEBACKS: Oceane Dodin/FRA and Patricia Maria Tig/ROU
...a few years ago, Dodin was one of the tour's up-and-coming stars. At 18, she won 1st Round matches at the Australian and U.S. Opens in 2015. At 19, the 2016 season saw her win her maiden tour title at Quebec City and break into the Top 100. A season later, Dodin posted MD wins in three different majors, reached the Top 50 and upset then-#5 Dominika Cibulkova in Madrid. Since 2018, though, she's suffered a huge rankings fall while battling vertigo that prevented her from training. She sat out from July '18 until April '19, falling outside the Top 500 in the rankings. Since her initial slam success (five MD wins from 2015-17), Dodin has gone 0-2 in the MD of majors and lost four times in qualifying.

This past week in Saint Petersburg, Dodin qualified with wins over Varvara Gracheva and Fiona Ferro to reach her first tour-level MD since June '18, then won her way into her first career Premier QF with victories over Viktoria Kuzmova and Johanna Konta (second career Top 20 win). She held two MP vs. Elena Rybakina before the Kazakh rallied for the win, but will jump up 28 spots in the Monday rankings to #131.



In Hua Hin, Tig's post-baby comeback has now secured her return to the Top 100, as the 25-year old Romanian reached the semis after knocking off Wang Yafan and Zheng Saisai. Tig returned to tennis in 2019 after a 19-month absence (which began due to injury) to win a pair of ITF titles and a WTA 125 Series challenger, while also winning seven straight Q/MD matches to reach a tour-level final in Bucharest, falling to Rybakina in the Kazakh's first career title run (after which Tig re-entered the computer rankings at #264). She'll be #84 in the new rankings, just one off the career high she established in April '17.


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FRESH FACES: Elena Rybakina/KAZ, Anastasia Potapova/RUS and Wang Xiyu/CHN
...while she suffered from a bad draw in Melbourne (Barty in the 3rd Rd.), Rybakina picked up in Saint Petersburg right where she left off last month, reaching her third final of the season and improving her '20 record to 15-3 (and 36-11, with five WTA finals, since her maiden title run in Bucharest last July). The 20-year old's run was hardly easy, as after an opening win over Katerina Siniakova she rallied from early deficits in both sets in a straight sets victory over Fiona Ferro, saved two MP vs. Oceane Dodin, and came back after dropping the 1st vs. Maria Sakkari in the semis. In her biggest career final, the Kazakh lost out 1 & 3 to defending champion Kiki Bertens, who'd played one less match and three fewer sets during the week.



After being barely ranked inside the Top 200 a year ago (#192 on February 18), Rybakina will make her Top 20 debut on Monday.



18-year olds Potapova and Wang, both former junior slam champs, posted encouraging results 4,763 miles apart.

2016 Wimbledon girls champ Potapova qualified in Saint Petersburg, the followed up with wins over Liudmila Samsonova and Ajla Tomljanovic to reach the QF. There, she nearly forced Kiki Bertens to three sets, only to see the defending champ overcome a 5-2 2nd set deficit (saving 3 SP) to get the win and end Potapova's week. Still, the Hordette will climb twenty spots in the new rankings, back into the Top 100 at #81.



In Hua Hin, 2018 U.S. Open girls winner Wang also reached the QF, getting her first career Top 20 win over #2-seeded Petra Martic and then backing it up with another over Barbara Haas.


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DOWN: Caroline Garcia/FRA and Johanna Konta/GBR
...for every Elena Rybakina and Sofia Kenin in a season's early stages, there's a Garcia and Konta. The beats -- as in, literally, the *defeats* -- went on in Saint Petersburg in Week 6, as both dropped their opening post-Australian Open outings.

Garcia lost in three sets to fellow Pastry Fiona Ferro, who'd entered the draw as a lucky loser. She drops to 2-4 on the season, with her last multi-win event being Mallorca last June. The 2017 Top 10er (and Top 20 holdover in '18) finished her '19 campaign in a 5-14 tailspin, losing five of six to wrap up a season that saw her fall to #45. Meanwhile, Konta, who ended her comeback '19 season (rising from #39 to #12) last summer with a bad knee, fell to 0-3 in 2020 after losing in straights to qualifier Oceane Dodin (she'd beaten Ferro in the final round of qualifying). Konta hasn't recorded a singles win since the U.S. Open, and skipped the action at last week's Fed Cup, where the Brit's play has often thrown her a lifeline during bouts of tour inadequacy in recent seasons.

Oddly enough, Garcia & Konta teamed up in doubles for the week and at least got a *taste* of victory, playing into the weekend's semifinals.


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ITF PLAYERS: Irina Camelia Begu/ROU and Olga Govortsova/BLR
...a pair of $100K challenger champions were crowned in Week 6 in Egypt and the U.S..



In Cairo, Romania's Begu emerged to grab her first circuit crown since 2014, and her first singles title of any kind since Bucharest in 2017. The 29-year old posted wins over Marta Kostyuk, Linda Fruhvirtova and Aliona Bolsova (#2 seed) before outlasting Lesia Tsurenko in a 6-4/3-6/6-2 final. It's Begu's fifth biggest career title, behind her four tour-level wins (2012-17) and equal to her three previous $100K title runs (2011-14). The win lifts the former world #22 (Aug.'16) back into the Top 100 (up 21 spots).



In Nicholasville, Kentucky, 31-year old Govortsova swept through the week without dropping a set as she claimed her biggest title since since her return from maternity leave in 2018 (and her biggest, period, since winning a $100K in Midland in '12 -- she was 0-4 in WTA finals between 2008-13). The Belarusian defeated Grace Min, Astra Sharma, Mona Barthel and Madison Brengle to reach the final, then handled Claire Liu 6-4/6-4 to secure the title. 2017 Wimbledon girls champ Liu, who'd knocked off Caroline Dolehide and Francoise Abanda en route, was playing in by far (after four $25K and a $15K) her biggest career final. The win returns Govortsova to the Top 150 (up 49 spots) for the first time since July '17.


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JUNIOR STAR: Elvina Kalieva/USA
...the 16-year old Bannerette claimed her biggest career crown at the Grade A Banana Bowl in Brazil. Having previously won just a pair of Grade 4 titles (in 2018) on the international level, the junior #93 dropped just thirteen games through her first five matches to reach the final. Once there, she topped Spain's Leyre Romero Gormaz, who'd upset three Top 9 seeds during the week, 6-1/1-6/6-3 to get the win.
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DOUBLES: Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara (JPN/JPN)
...after reaching the Saint Petersburg final without dropping a set, top-seeded Aoyama/Shibahara lost the 1st to Kaitlyn Christian/Alexa Guarachi. The pair turned things around quickly, though, dominating the rest of the match by winning a love 2nd and then taking a 10-3 super tie-break to claim a third title in their fourth tour final together since August (including a crown in the WTA's most recent stop in Russia at the Kremlin Cup).

The win is the twelfth of Aoyama's career, with her three with Shibahara the most she's taken with any single partner. Shibahara, who only started representing Japan last July (after previously playing her entire career for the U.S., and also attending and playing for UCLA) reached a fifth career final last spring in Bogota with Hayley Carter.


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WHEELCHAIR: Viktoriia Lvova/RUS
...in the Series 3 event in Wrexham, England the 21-year old Russian (WC #15) made her 2020 debut a successful one, defeating the likes of Brit Louise Hunt (QF) and Pastry Charlotte Famin (7-5/6-2 final) to claim the championship.

Famin, while title-less, had a fabulous week, posting wins over Donna Jansen and Michaela Spaanstra, as well as upsetting Zhu Zhenzhen, on her way to the final.
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1. Saint Petersburg Final - Kiki Bertens def. Elena Rybakina
...6-1/6-3. After seeing eighteen different women crowned champion in the season's first eighteen events in 2019, with Rybakina's loss, 2020 has opened with eight different women sharing the year's first eight singles titles.


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2. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Fiona Ferro 6-3/6-4
Saint Petersburg QF - Elena Rybakina def. Oceane Dodin 6-7(5)/7-5/6-2
...never let it be said that Rybakina has to have perfect conditions and a smooth road to have success. The Kazakh rallied form 1-3 and 0-3 down in the 1st and 2nd sets, respectively, against Ferro, then battled back from two MP down vs. another Pastry in Dodin a round later to maintain her perfect mark vs. French players.


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3. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Alison Van Uytvanck
...7-6(1)/1-6/6-2. The first two games took 50 points and 30 minutes. Kvitova then erased an early break lead by Van Uytvanck in the 3rd to advance to the QF, where one more win would have signed her pass back into the Top 10. But the Czech withdrew due from the tournament due to illness. My, a whole lot of that sounds awfully familiar.
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4. Hua Hin QF - Nao Nibino def. Elina Svitolina
...6-4/6-2. Hibino's first career Top 10 win, after having previously been 0-12 in such matches.
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5. Hua Hin Final - Magda Linette def. Leonie Kung
...6-3/6-2. Two years ago in her biggest junior final, Kung fell to Poland's Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon. This weekend, in her biggest pro final, she fell to Poland's Linette.


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6. Saint Petersburg QF - Kiki Bertens def. Anastasia Potapova
...6-4/7-6(3). Bertens trailed 5-2 in the 2nd vs. the Russian teenager, saving three SP to avoid being pushed to three.
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7. SainT Petersburg 1st Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Vitalia Diatchenko 3-6/6-4/7-6(3)
Saint Petersburg QF - Maria Sakkari def. Belinda Bencic 2-6/6-4/6-3
...three of Sakkari's four matches on the week went the distance. After pulling herself out of a 5-2 hole in the 3rd vs. Diatchenko, saving a MP, she rallied from a set down to knock off #5 Bencic, who still manages to rise to a new career high of #4 this week due to Svitolina's QF loss in Hua Hin. The Ukrainian falls from #4 to #5, lifting the still idle Bianca Andreescu (out of Dubai this week, as a '20 debut no earlier than in her Indian Wells title defense -- or maybe in Miami, with two additonal weeks of rest and rehab? -- seems more and more likely all the time) back into the Top 5.
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8. Saint Petersburg 1st Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Yulia Putintseva
...7-6(4)/1-6/7-5. After a disappointing 0-2 stint in Fed Cup last week, Kudermetova came back strong in Russia, eliminating Putintseva (1-1 FC) despite the Kazakh serving for the match in the 3rd.
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9. Hua Hin Q2 - Ulrikke Eikeri def. Sarah Beth Grey
...6-2/6-3. The 27-year old Norwegian reaches her first career WTA MD after a career filled with ITF success going back a dozen years and including 11 circuit singles and 25 doubles title runs. Who said good things don't come to those who wait (I mean, other than Gen PDQ, of course)? This was Eikeri's 230th career event appearance.


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10. $25K Grenoble FRA Final - Clara Burel def. Eleonora Molinaro
...5–7/7–5/6–2. The former girls #1 -- in 2018, when she reached the AO, US and Youth Olympic finals, and won the Junior Masters) -- wins her maiden pro singles crown in just her fifth event back from last spring's wrist surgery.


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11. $25K Trnava SVK Final - Jaqueline Cristian def. Sofya Lansere
...6-1/4-2 ret. After debuting in Fed Cup last weekend with a maiden victory over Veronika Kudermetov that pushed the RUS/ROU qualifier tie into the deciding doubles, Cristian picks up her tenth career challenger title with yet another win over a Russian (as well as another over Victoria Kan in the semis).


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12. $100K Nicholasville USA QF - Francoise Abanda def. Marie Bouzkova
...6-7(2)/7-6(6)/6-4. Ranked #377, the oft-injured Canadian -- are there any other kinds? -- is back from her latest absence and reached the semis as a LL, getting upsets of Caty McNally and Bouzkova. The win over the #60-ranked Czech, in 3:26, is her biggest since 2018.


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HM- Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Svetlana Kuznetsova
...7-6(4)/6-4. Bencic's week in Russia ended a round later, but she delivered a classic quote after her final win.


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1. $100K Cairo EGY Final - Aleksandra Krunic/Katarzyna Piter def. Arantxa Rus/MAYAR SHERIF
...6-4/6-2. A week after taking a part in *three* successful deciding doubles efforts during Serbia's battle out of zone play to reach this spring's FC Playoffs, Krunic grabbed her first ITF doubles crown since 2014.


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**RECENT EARLY-CAREER BREAKOUTS**
2015: Nao Hibino wins Tashkent (2nd WTA MD, age 20)
2016: Rebeka Masarova to Gstaad SF (WTA MD debut, age 16)
2017: Jana Fett to Hobart SF (WTA MD debut, age 20)
2017: Marketa Vondrousova wins Biel (2nd WTA MD, age 17)
2017: Mihaela Buzarnescu to Linz SF (2nd WTA MD, age 29)
2018: Anastasia Potapova to Moscow River Cup F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2018: Tamara Zidansek to Moscow River Cup SF (3rd WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Bianca Andreescu to Auckland F (4th WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Iga Swiatek to Lugano F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2019: Astra Sharma to Bogota F (3rd WTA MD, age 23)
2019: Martina Di Giuseppe to Bucharest SF (1st WTA MD, age 28)
2019: Katarzyna Kawa to Jurmala Final (1st WTA MD, age 26)
2019: Liudmila Samsonova to Palermo SF (4th WTA MD, age 20)
2019: Coco Gauff wins Linz (5th WTA MD, age 15)
2020: Leonie Kung to Hua Hin F (2nd WTA MD, age 19)
[slams]
2014: Genie Bouchard to Australian Open semis (4th career GS MD, age 19)
2014: Genie Bouchard to Wimbledon Final (6th career GS MD, age 20)
2017: Alona Ostapeno wins Roland Garros (8th career GS MD, age 20)
2018: Naomi Osaka wins U.S. Open (11th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Danielle Collins to Australian Open SF (6th career GS MD, age 25)
2019: Amanda Anisimova to Roland Garros SF (4th career GS MD, age 17)
2019: Marketa Vondrousova to Roland Garros SF (9th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Bianca Andreescu wins U.S. Open (4th career GS MD, age 19)
2020: Sofia Kenin wins Australian Open (12th career GS MD, age 21)

**2019-20 WTA TITLES**
4 - Ash Barty, AUS (2020: 1)
4 - Sofia Kenin, USA (1)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1)
3 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3 - KIKI BERTENS, NED (1)
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

**2018-20 WTA FINALS**
10 - Ash Barty, AUS (7-3)
10 - KIKI BERTENS, NED (6-4)
9 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (7-2)
9 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (7-2)
9 - Simona Halep, ROU (4-5)
8 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (5-3)
6 - Serena Williams, USA (1-5)
6 - Julia Goerges, GER (3-3)
6 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (4-2)

**2020 WTA SF**
3 - ELENA RYBAKINA, KAZ (3-0)
2 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA, RUS (1-1)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (1-1)
2 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (1-0+L)

**2020 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING**
#1 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
#2 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
#8 - Kiki Bertens (Saint Petersburg)
#10 - Serena Williams (Auckland)
#15 - Sofia Kenin (Australian Open)
#30 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
#34 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)
#42 - Magda Linette (Hua Hin)

**2019 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE**
20 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
21 - Sofia Kenin (Australian Open)
23 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
25 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)
27 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
28 - Magda Linette (Hun Hin)
28 - Kiki Bertens (Saint Petersburg)
38 - Serena Williams (Auckland)

**2020 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS**
COFFEE BOWL CRC G1: Mi Lan, CHN
COPA BARRANQUILLA COL G1: Dana Guzman, PER
RPM JUNIOR OPEN CZE G1: Kristina Dmitruk, BLR
TRARALGON AUS G1: Polina Kudermetova, RUS
MUNDIAL JUVENIL DE TENIS ECU G1: Julia Garcia, MEX
VICCOURT CUP UKR G1: Julia Avdeeva, RUS
AUSTRALIAN OPEN JUNIORS: Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND
ASUNCION BOWL PAR G1: Dana Guzman, PER
PORTO ALEGRE BRA G1: Matilde Paoletti, ITA
BANANA BOWL BRA GA: Elvina Kalieva, USA

**LOWEST-RANKED WTA CHAMPIONS - ALL-TIME**
#579 Angelique Widjaja, INA (2001 Bali) (WC)
#299 Margarite Gasparyan, RUS (2018 Tashkent) (PR)
#285 Fabiola Zuluaga, COL (2002 Bogota) (WC)
#259 Tamira Paszek, AUS (2006 Portoroz) (Q)
#234 Lindsay Davenport, USA (2007 Bali) (PR)
#233 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (2017 Biel) (Q)
#208 Melanie Oudin, USA (2012 Birmingham) (Q)
#205 Kumiko Okamoto, JPN (1989 Tokyo) (Q)
#201 Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (2009 Warsaw) (Q)
#201 Petra Langrova, CZE (1988 Paris) (Q)
--
NOTE: not including unranked winners






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:55 PM 

8 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

St. Petersburg is like a carnival with all of the lights and jazz.

Bertenskina is the queen of St. Petersburg. As a hint, next week's quiz will have either something to do with Bertens or Russia.

Sakkari's week could have been a whole bunch different. Diatchenko's serve was off all match, and still almost pulled it out.

Stat of the Week- 7* - The amount of women in the Top 50 the week of 1/6/20 who are winless on the season before Dubai.

#6- Andreescu - DNP
#12- Konta- 0-3
#24- Stephens- 0-3
#30- Sevastova* 0-3
#33- Hsieh- 0-3
#44- Peterson- 0-3
#49- Azarenka- DNP

Asterik for Sevastova is because she ended her 5 match losing streak against Serena on less, in Fed Cup.

Peterson actually won the final tournament she played last year.

Quiz Time!
Wimbledon girls runner up Leonie Kung reached a final in only her second WTA main draw. In the last 10 years, which runner up has reached a final the fastest?

A.Amanda Anisimova
B.Rebeka Masarova
C.Cori Gauff
D.Anett Kontaveit



Interlude- Instead of music, here is Lobo from Westminster Dog Show.

https://twitter.com/DogsNDemocrats/status/1227626520119828480



Answer!

2010-2019 were used, but not this year's Australian Open. That originally left 40 spots, which was cut to 37 as Putintseva, Puig and Burel all lost twice. Note that Schmiedlova did not lose twice, as both Anna Karolina and Kristina did.

Of those 37, 13 have reached a final so far. (B)Masarova is wrong, because she never has. Like fellow countrywoman Kung, or at least she was in 2016, she came out of the box with a SF run at Gstaad. Two months later, she was in a car accident, and even though she claimed she was uninjured, she has never been the same. AO RU in 2017, she has only played 1 WTA event since-Gstaad 2017.

(D)Kontaveit isn't even close, having reached a final in her 34th MD. Of the 13, the only ones that took longer were Garcia T-34th, Siniakova 39th, Jabeur 40th, and Putintseva 64th. Putintseva's trip was even longer, as she lost in Q 33 times, most of this group, edging out Jabeur's 32.

But 2012 USO RU Kontaveit is a choice because of how she is in other's history. Her first final was Biel 2017, where she lost to Vondrousova, who was playing only her second event. Also lost R16 to Masarova in Gstaad.

(A) 2016 French Open RU Anisimova is wrong, but is second on the list having reached her final in Japan in only her 7th MD.

That leaves (C)Gauff as the 2017 USO RU won Linz in only her 5th MD.

Sun Feb 16, 09:58:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side.

1.Pliskova- Originally Muguruza was the pick, but once Bertens dropped out, Muguruza went from playing Svitolina to playing Clijsters. Even so, there is more conviction in this pick than an Astros apology. Former Doha winner and Dubai finalist looks good.
2.Muguruza- Assume she is getting a night match. Could be a circus type atmosphere, but if she wins, could be a good week.
3.Kung- Raw, but really improved over the last year. Can hang in rallies well. Overuses the moonball, and comes in way too often, but for a player that wouldn't have even made qualies for Roland Garros to being solidly in is a good week. Also now one of those rare players that has reached a tour level final before playing in a slam.
4.Aoyama/Shibahara- Seeded in Dubai, it would not be a shock to see them do well as they have already won a premier title. Sitting at 4 in the race, they are the breakout team of the year, along with Gauff/McNally, not far behind at 7.
5.Halep- Slight darkhorse this week, mainly because of a matchup with Jabeur. Ons normally gives Halep trouble, but hasn't played that well in the Middle East. If Halep can get by her, it should be a good week.

Sun Feb 16, 10:10:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Siniakova- Had a 6 match losing streak heading into Dubai. Actually doesn't look as bad as some others, just not winning.
2.Strycova- Doubles might obscure the fact that since the Wimbledon SF, she is 3-10. Only win this year was against winless Konta.
3.Muchova- Only 1-2 on the season, along with Bouzkova(another Czech), Bencic and Svitolina, she hasn't brought last season's form yet.
4.Hercog- Since October she is 2-4. Not horrible, until you realize that her 2 wins were over Peterson and Siniakova.
5.Babos- Obviously not because of doubles. But her home event, which she is a former winner of, got cancelled. With all 8 of her career finals being internationals, having to either play Dubai, or not at all, is a losing proposition.

Sun Feb 16, 10:20:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

The stats are probably even more pronounced if you'd listed all the Top 50 players under .500 a month and a half into the season.

Quiz: tempted to say Gauff, but went with Anna Simova... err, I mean Anisimova. Should have acted like an ESPN commentator and just went with Coco because, well, it's never a wrong answer if you go with Coco, right?

Doggo- "areyawatchin, areyawatchin, whatsthat, sniffsniff, canihavesomeofthat, areyawatchin, areyawatchin. Oh, we're finished now?" ;)

"Even so, there is more conviction in this pick than an Astros apology." Heehee. And in an MLB "punishment," too. :)

Post-FC updates: Sasnovich 3-0 in Dubai qualifying after winning twice on Day 2 vs. NED. Kudermetova now 4-1 overall since her 0-2 tie vs. ROU.

Muguruza leading Clijsters 6-3/3-0 (well, 3-1 now, as KC just broke) as I write this. Been tighter than score would make it seem, though. Hmmm.

Mon Feb 17, 11:22:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Was 6-2/3-0. Ended up being 6-2/7-6(6). Some good stuff from Clijsters in her first match back. Whether she can sustain that level *and* stay healthy after 7 years out is the question. :\

Mon Feb 17, 12:10:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

Clijsters is going to cause us to work. Due to gaining only 1 point in Dubai, she will be ranked below 1000. Unless she beats a local WC, her first win will be one of the biggest range of rankings in history.

Because of the 2006 AO Clijsters/Hingis match, I tried to check her ranking. Hingis officially was 9999 as that was under the old play 3 tournaments until ranked. AO was the 4th, Hingis was 349, Clijsters 2. Clijsters won in 3, 6-4.

Clijsters game style is encouraging. Bertens lite. Surprisingly good defense, good groundstrokes, and good aggressiveness. Serve is decent. Too many DF's, but effective when in play.

And you are right. If she can stay healthy, this is promising.

Vesnina was in St. Petersburg.

Kenin/Rybakina should be fun.

Kazakhstan's new Fed Cup captain is Shvedova.

Anisimova looked slower than usual. Can't tell if that is injury or rust.

Mon Feb 17, 04:39:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

And Rybakina's roll continues...

She is so matter-of-fact about everything she does, you can't help but chuckle at it. Right down to being asked about how great she serves and all her aces. "We worked a lot. I don't... know what to say (voice trails off)." ;)

Tue Feb 18, 12:40:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

She makes me think of a very young Chris Evert, smacking winners, upsetting elite players, and with this "what's everyone looking at? I do this every day" deadpan face, just going about her business.

Wed Feb 19, 10:34:00 AM EST  

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